Governor  Stephens  of  California  points  with  proper  pride  to  his 
cucumbers. 


THE 

CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 
IN  GARDEN  and  FIELD 


A  MANUAL  OF  PRACTICE  WITH  AND 
WITHOUT  IRRIGATION  FOR  SEMI- 
TROPICAL  COUNTRIES 


EDWARD  J.  WICKSON,A.  M. 

PROFESSOR  OF  HORTICULTURE,  EMERITUS,  UNIVERSITY  OF 

CALIFORNIA;  AUTHOR  OF  "CALIFORNIA  FRUITS  AND  HOW 

TO  GROW  THEM";  "CALIFORNIA  GARDEN-FLOWERS, 

SHRUBS, TREES  AND  VINES,"  ETC.;  EDITOR  OF 

THE  "PACIFIC  RURAL  PRESS"  OF 

SAN  FRANCISCO 


FOURTH  EDITION 

Revised  and  Extended 


PACIFIC  RURAL  PRESS 

SAN  FRANCISCO 
1917 


COPYRIGHT  1917 

BY 
EDWARD  J.  WICKSON  AND  PACIFIC  RURAL  PRESS 


jfe?/ 


Wfc 


PREFACE  TO  FOURTH  EDITION     ./4r*r 

The  purpose  of  the  work  is  to  give  the  newcomer,  or  old-resident  begin- 
ner, an  understanding  of  the  peculiar  gardening  conditions  which  he  encoun- 
ters in  California  and  descriptions  of  practices  which  attain  most  satisfactory 
results  under  those  conditions.  Experienced  gardeners  from  other  states  and 
countries  soon  find  that  their  accustomed  procedure  fails  of  its  wonted  results ; 
that  the  old  times  and  ways  of  doing  things  are  unsuitable,  and  that  new  rules 
of  practice  must  be  learned.  Often  those  who  have  had  no  earlier  gardening 
experience  seek  a  rural  home  in  California  and  desire  to  possess  a  home  gar- 
den or  to  engage  in  commercial  production  of  vegetables.  They  soon  find  that 
following  the  advice  to  beginnners  given  in  books  written  for  other  climates, 
yields  many  disappointments. 

In  addition  to  broad  differences  between  California  and  other  areas  oc- 
cupied by  English-speaking  peoples  in  the  Northern  Hemisphere,  conditions 
of  soil  and  climate  are  very  diverse  within  the  boundaries  of  this  common- 
wealth and  gardening  practice  must  vary  with  them.  No  matter  how  skilful 
and  successful  a  man  may  be  in  his  particular  locality,  his  experience  can  only 
be  a  safe  guide  to  those  who  happen  to  work  under  similar  conditions.  There- 
fore a  suggestive  treatise  must  analyze  the  local  conditions  and  practice  and 
translate  them  into  terms  of  wide  applicability.  To  do  this  it  is  necessary 
that  the  principles  underlying  the  successful  practice  should  be  discerned  and 
the  significance  of  conditions  be  interpreted.  That  this  character  has  been  in 
some  degree  attained  in  this  work  is  attested  by  its  acceptance  as  a  guide  in 
all  parts  of  California  and  by  the  sphere  of  popularity  and  usefulness  it  has 
entered  in  distant  countries,  which  have  resemblance  to  California  in  climatic  t 
conditions  and  desire  to  establish  similar  industries  upon  them. 

The  writer  has  had  opportunity  for  wide  collection  of  data,  and  for  ex- 
tended personal  observation  as  well,  and  his  effort  has  been  continually  in- 
spirited by  enthusiastic  delight  in  the  subject  itself,  gained  from  his  own 
garden  work. 

In  the  preparation  of  this  edition,  the  text  has  been  carefully  revised  and 
freshened  with  the  latest  information,  and  the  type  has  been  re-set  throughout. 
In  a  work  of  this  kind,  involving  the  experience  and  observation  of  many 
individuals  during  a  considerable  period  of  time,  it  is  impossible  to  render  a 
full  account  of  the  writer's  indebtedness.  Wherever  direct  use  has  been  made 
of  the  experience  and  methods  which  others  have  formulated,  an  attempt  has 
been  made  to  render  definite  credit  to  the  source.  When  such  accounts  of 
experience  are  used  without  citation  of  publication,  credit  is,  in  most  cases, 
due  to  the  columns  of  the  Pacific  Rural  Press,  a  journal  which  has  been  the 
chief  medium  for  the  publication  of  information  of  this  kind  for  the  last  forty- 
seven  years. 

EDWARD  J.  WICKSON. 

University  of  California,  Berkeley,  October,  1917. 

36450i  rmi 


FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS 


OPPOSITE 
PAGE 

Governor  Stephens  points  with  pride  to  his  cucumbers Frontispiece 

A  picturesque  river-bank  garden  irrigated  with  Chinese  pump 32 

Onions  and  lettuce.    Laying  off  for  cultivation  and  irrigation 33 

Laying  off  in  ridges  and  ridges  flattened  for  planting 40 

Tomatoes,  cantaloups,  etc.,  in  young  orchard 41 

Globe  artichokes  in  the  foreground  of  a  farm  garden  near  Stockton 56 

Bean  field  in  the  Imperial  Valley  furrowed  out  for  irrigation 57 

Digging  sugar  beets  with  a  tractor  on  the  Meek  Ranch  near  Antioch 64 

Section  of  a  cabbage  field  in  the  Modesto  District,  San  Joaquin  Valley. .  65 

Cauliflower  field  showing  method  of  furrowing  out  and  irrigating 96 

Pulling  celery  plants  from  seed-bed  and  transplanting  to  deep  furrows  in 
the  field  97 

Field  of  banked  celery  in  the  vegetable  region  of  Orange  County 128 

Corn  field  near  a  head  ditch  in  Princeton  District  of  Colusa  County 129 

Lettuce  set  at  edge  of  moisture;  also  headed  lettuce  right  to  gather 160 

Fruiting  of  cantaloup  in  a  California  garden  on  moist  land 161 

Cantaloups  from  horizon  to  horizon  in  Imperial  Valley 192 

Growth  and  bearing  of  watermelons  on  moist  riverside  lands 193 

A  field  of  peas  for  canning  near  Los  Angeles  with  pickers  in  the  distance  224 

A  glimpse  at  the  heart  of  a  California  pepper  plant 225 

Potatoes  in  the  Los  Molinos  region  of  Tehama  County 256 

New  settler's  outfit  and  rhubarb  field  near  Marysville 257 

Field  squash  in  Arroyo  Grande  Valley,  San  Luis  Obispo  County 288 

Fruiting  of  California  tomato  plant  disclosed  by  clipping  away  foliage 289 


[iv] 


CONTENTS 


I.  VEGETABLE  GROWING  IN  CALIFORNIA 7 

II.  FARMER'S  GARDENS  IN  CALIFORNIA 16 

III.  CALIFORNIA'S  CLIMATE  AS  RELATED  TO  VEGETABLE  GROWING.  . .  22 

IV.  VEGETABLE  SOILS  OF  CALIFORNIA 32 

V.  GARDEN  IRRIGATION 39 

VI.  GARDEN  DRAINAGE    61 

VII.  CULTIVATION  66 

VIII.  FERTILIZATION    76 

IX.  GARDEN  LOCATION  AND  ARRANGEMENT 85 

X.  THE  PLANTING  SEASON 92 

XL  PROPAGATION  AND  PLANTING 106 

XII.  ARTICHOKES    120 

XIII.  ASPARAGUS    125 

XIV.  BEANS    133 

XV.  BEET   149 

XVI.  CABBAGE,  CAULIFLOWER,  BROCCOLI,  KALE,  ETC 159 

XVII.  CARROT,  PARSNIP  AND  SALSIFY 172 

XVIII.  CELERY   177 

XIX.  CHICORY  AND  ENDIVE 184 

XX.  CORN  187 

XXL  CUCUMBER  194 

XXII.  EGG  PLANT  197 

XXIII.  LETTUCE  199 

XXIV.  MELONS  :   CANTALOUP  AND  WATERMELON 206 

XXV.  ONION,  LEEK,  GARLIC,  ETC 217 

XXVI.  PEAS   229 

XXVII.  PEPPERS    234 

XXVIII.  POTATOES   239 

XXIX.  RADISHES    253 

XXX.  RHUBARB   256 

XXXI.  SPINACH    260 

XXXII.  SQUASHES    262 

XXXIII.  TOMATO    265 

XXXIV.  TURNIP 274 

XXXV.  VEGETABLE  SUNDRIES  276 

XXXVI.  VEGETABES  FOR  CANNING  AND  DRYING 283 

XXXVII.  SEED  GROWING  IN  CALIFORNIA „ 292 

XXXVIII.  GARDEN  PROTECTION  298 

XXXIX.  WEEDS  IN  CALIFORNIA 313 

INDEX   315 


[v] 


CHAPTER    I. 

VEGETABLE  GROWING  IN 
CALIFORNIA. 

Though  California  enjoys  world-wide  fame  for  fruits  it  is  an 
interesting  fact  that  the  state  first  won  horticultural  recognition 
upon  achievements  in  vegetable  growing.  Garden  seeds  were  more 
easily  transported  than  trees  and  formed  a  part  of  the  scant  bag- 
gage of  many  gold-seekers.  Seeds  were  also  freely  sent  by  home 
friends  or  quickly  obtained  on  orders  to  eastern  dealers  as  soon  as 
the  agriculturists  among  the  argonauts  saw  their  opportunity  in  the 
fabulous  rates  which  esculents  commanded.  Results,  too,  were  more 
quickly  secured  with  garden  seeds  than  with  fruit  trees.  Only  a 
few  weeks  after  their  planting  the  grower  saw  that  he  was  dealing 
with  forcing  and  developing  agencies  in  climate  and  soil  more 
effective  than  any  he  had  known  in  his  old  home  and  he  was  quite 
as  surprised  at  his  own  achievements  as  his  eastern  friends  were 
incredulous  at  his  descriptions  of  them.  They  were  ready  to  believe 
anything  about  gold,  because  their  conception  of  a  gold  country  in- 
volved its  traditional  right  to  be  fabulous,  but  such  a  concession  was 
not  to  be  made  to  common  vegetables.  Eastern  people  knew  cab- 
bages and  beans  and  to  attribute  to  them  colossal  dimensions  and  to 
allege  that  they  grew  from  seed  to  succotash  without  a  drop  of  rain 
was  simply  coarse  lying.  It  is  easy  to  see  why  a  milder  word  would 
be  considered  inadequate,  for  the  following  was  one  of  California's 
first  horticultural  proclamations : 

On  land  owned  and  cultivated  by  Mr.  James  Williams,  of  Santa  Cruz,  an 
onion  grew  to  the  enormous  weight  of  twenty-one  pounds,  and  a  turnip  was 
grown  which  equaled  exactly  in  size  the  top  of  a  flour  barrel.  On  land  owned 
and  cultivated  by  Thomas  Fallen,  a  cabbage  grew  which  measured,  while 
growing,  thirteen  feet  and  six  inches  around  its  body.  The  weight  is  not 
known.  A  beet  grown  by  Mr.  Isaac  Brannan,  at  San  Jose,  weighed  sixty-three 
pounds;  carrots  three  feet  in  length,  weighed  forty  pounds.  At  Stockton  a 
turnip  weighed  one  hundred  pounds,  and  at  a  dinner  for  twelve  persons,  of  a 
single  potato,  larger  than  the  size  of  an  ordinary  hat,  all  partook,  leaving  at 
least  the  half  untouched.1 

These  statements  are  vouched  for  by  twelve  persons  whose 
names  are  given.  To  save  the  respect  of  their  eastern  friends  and 
at  the  same  time  to  loyally  make  known  the  horticultural  glory  of 
the  land  they  had  found,  the  early  vegetable  growers  had  recourse 
to  public  exhibitions.  The  first  was  held  in  the  fall  of  1851  in  San 
Francisco.  The  exhibits  did  not  quite  equal  the  verdict  of  the  hor- 
ticultural jury  cited  above  but  they  were  notable,  e.  g. :  a  red  beet 

1  Rep.  of  the  Com.  of  Patents  for  1851:    Part  II,  p.  4. 

[7] 


8      /-.  •'    —  ;;     CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

from  San  Jose,  twenty-eight  inches  in  circumference,  weight  forty- 
seven  pounds ;  beets  two  months  from  seed  in  San  Francisco,  six  and 
seven  pounds;  cabbage  from  Mission  San  Jose  seven  feet  in  cir- 
cumference, weight  fifty-six  pounds;  cucumbers  eighteen  inches  in 
length ;  onions  five,  six  and  seven  inches  in  diameter  from  a  product 
of  nearly  seventy  thousand  pounds  to  the  acre ;  potatoes  from  Santa 
Cruz,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  from  the  five  vines  of  a 
single  hill  and  one  potato  from  Santa  Clara  thirteen  inches  in  length, 
weighing  seven  and  a  quarter  pounds ;  pumpkins  and  squashes  from 
one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  forty  pounds  each. 

The  demonstrations  furnished  by  such  public  exhibitions,  of 
which  there  were  several  in  the  early  years  of  San  Francisco,  were 
accepted  at  the  East,  and  even  such  conservative  experts  as  the  late 
Dr.  Warder  of  Ohio  were  led  to  exclaim,  as  early  as  1852,  "truly 
this  is  a  wonderful  country." J  To  fully  appreciate  the  significance 
of  the  facts  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  varieties  were  those  of 
nearly  half  a  century  ago  and  the  culture  was  wholly  lacking  in  the 
intensive  arts  which  are  common  property  of  vegetable  growers  of 
the  present  day.  The  immensity  of  the  specimens  and  of  the  crop, 
wonderful  to  the  grower  and  incredible  to  the  distant  hearer,  was 
simply  the  exponent  of  the  capacity  of  a  virgin  soil,  in  which  fer- 
tility had  been  accumulating  for  ages,  and  the  forcing  power  of  a 
climate  wholly  new  to  Americans.  In  later  years  California  has  sur- 
passed even  these  early  standards  through  the  employment  of  higher 
horticultural  skill,  as  will  be  described  presently,  but  it  was  upon 
the  achievements  of  the  vegetable  growers  at  the  very  beginning  of 
the  American  occupation  that  California's  horticultural  reputation 
was  established. 

How  the  Pioneers  Prospered  by  Vegetable  Growing. — It  would 
be  easy  to  collect  quite  a  volume  of  interesting  instances  of  how 
success  was  attained  in  the  early  days,  but  a  single  experience  must 
suffice.  It  illustrates  both  the  resources  of  the  pioneers  and  the 
country  which  they  found.  G.  G.  Briggs  left  New  York  state  in 
April,  1849,  and  arrived  in  California  in  October  of  the  same  year, 
driving  an  ox  team  and  walking  most  of  the  way.  He  says : 

When  I  arrived  in  California  I  saw  at  once  that  there  were  other  means 
of  accumulating  gold  besides  digging  it  from  the  mines;  that  miners  and  all 
classes  would  need  turnips  and  cabbage  and  other  products  of  the  soil;  that 
even  then  many  were  suffering  with  scurvy  and  other  diseases  for  the  want  of 
fresh  vegetable  food.  The  large  crops  of  native  grapes  on  the  banks  of  the 
Sacramento  were  proof  of  the  productive  capacity  of  the  California  soil  and 
climate.  Reaching  Sacramento,  our  party  of  four  had  no  money  and  no  prop- 
erty but  our  wagon  and  three  yoke  of  oxen.  I  could  find  no  work  whatever. 
I  got  trusted  by  a  storekeeper  for  a  sack  of  walnuts  and  sold  them  to  passers 
by  the  teacupfull  and  in  five  days  cleared  fifty  dollars.  We  sold  our  oxen  and 
with  my  part  of  the  money  I  went  to  San  Francisco  to  buy  garden  seeds  with 
which  to  start  vegetable  growing  on  a  piece  of  land  I  had  seen  previously  in 
the  bottom  of  the  Yuba  river,  near  the  present  site  of  Marysville.  As  it  was 
too  early  in  the  season  to  plant,  I  bought  a  whale-boat  and  began  freighting 

2  Western  Hort.  Review,  Feb.,  1852. 


VEGETABLES  AT  THE  MISSIONS  V 

goods;  and  by  spring  I  had  accumulated  about  three  thousand  dollars.  The 
last  load  freighted  by  me  included  a  ton  of  potatoes,  which  cost  me  forty  cents 
a  pound.  My  seeds  and  potatoes  were  planted  in  March,  1851,  and  everything 
was  doing  well  until  cut  to  the  ground  by  frost  on  April  19.  My  potatoes, 
however,  came  up  again  and  made  a  fair  crop.  I  was  not  to  be  cheated  out 
of  my  vegetable  crop,  and  started  out  again  to  buy  seeds,  but  could  find  none, 
either  in  Sacramento  or  in  San  Francisco.  Returning  to  Sacramento,  I 
chanced  upon  some  watermelon  seeds  on  the  boat,  and  bought  the  lot  for 
twenty  dollars.  With  these  I  planted  five  acres,  and  cleaned  up  about  five 
thousand  dollars  for  one  summer's  work.  The  next  year  I  planted  about 
twenty-six  acres  of  watermelons,  and  in  the  fall  I  found  I  had  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars  for  my  summer's  work.* 

With  the  money  Mr.  Briggs  returned  to  New  York  for  his 
family  and  brought  also,  on  his  return,  some  fruit  trees,  and  laid  the 
foundation  of  his  subsequent  brilliant  record  as  a  pioneer  fruit 
grower.  Others  followed  about  the  same  course  and  thus  vegetable 
growing  became  not  only  the  basis  of  California's  horticultural 
reputation  but  actually  furnished  the  capital  for  the  ventures  which 
demonstrated  the  possibility  of  our  great  fruit  industries. 

Vegetables  at  the  Missions  and  the  Ranches. — The  American 
pioneers  found  little  at  the  establishments  of  the  old  regime  that 
was  instructive  or  even  suggestive.  In  fact,  the  Spanish  conception 
of  the  agricultural  capacity  and  adaptability  of  the  country  was  not 
only  inadequate;  it  was  erroneous  as  well.  Though  the  missions 
had  gardens,  they  were  almost  destitute  of  gardening  as  we  under- 
stand the  term  and  whether  the  Spanish  and  Mexican  settlers  were 
deterred  from  vegetable  growing  by  their  distaste  for  any  physical 
exertion,  away  from  the  saddle,  or  by  their  ignorance  of  the  fitness 
of  the  country,  is  not  a  question  of  much  importance  in  this  con- 
nection. Hittell  says:  "Gardening  was  not  attempted  except  on  a 
very  small  scale  and  only  for  such  vegetables  as  could  be  produced 
with  very  little  labor.  .  .  .  Potatoes  and  turnips  were  rare  and 
of  garden  vegetables  in  general  it  my  be  said  that  until  the  advent 
of  foreign  settlers  they  were  scarcely  cultivated." 4  Bryant,  who 
visited  California  in  1846  and  examined  the  Los  Angeles  gardens, 
saw  only  onions,  potatoes,  red  peppers  and  beans  and  added  that  he 
believed  other  vegetables  would  grow  as  well  as  they. 

Illustrating  the  inability  of  the  rancheros  to  understand  the 
wide  applicability  of  the  simple  horticultural  lessons  given  at  the 
missions,  it  is  related  that  at  the  time  of  the  American  settlement 
most  of  the  Spanish  families  living  in  different  parts  of  Alameda 
and  Contra  Costa  had  their  garden  patches  near  the  Mission  San 
Jose.  They  knew  fruit  and  vegetables  would  grow  there,  because 
they  had  seen  them  in  the  mission  gardens  and  they  did  not  know 
they  would  grow  elsewhere  and  had  not  taken  the  trouble  to  find 
out.  Thus  the  Estudillos  of  San  Leandro  had  their  garden  patch  at 

8  Condensed  from  narrative  of  G.  G.  Briggs,  in  Rep.  State  Ag'l  Soc.  1881.  Another  ac- 
count (Rep.  1858)  says  this  watermelon  crop  was  grown  by  Mr.  Briggs  with  the  aid  of  two 
men. 

4  Hist,  of  California,  Vol.  II,  p.  474. 


10  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

the  Mission  San  Jose  and  transported  their  vegetables  fifteen  or 
twenty  miles,  while  right  outside  the  door  of  their  house  at  San 
Leandro  was  the  finest  garden  soil  in  the  world,  and  they  did  not 
know  it ! " 

Neither  the  mission  gardeners  nor  their  rancheros  had  any  idea 
of  the  capacity  of  the  country  for  summer  crops  without  irrigation 
and  without  any  adequate  conception  of  the  offices  of  cultivation 
they  could  hardly  have  attained  it.  Hence,  not  having  the  irrigation 
facilities  which  were  developed  at  the  missions,  and  not  being  in- 
clined to  any  labor  by  which  their  own  lands  could  be  irrigated, 
they  would  naturally  go  to  the  water  rather  than  attempt  to  bring 
the  water  to  their  land  for  anything  more  than  stock  and  domestic 
uses.  Almost  at  sight  the  American  pioneer  horticulturists  dis- 
cerned possibilities  and  adaptations  in  the  soil  and  climate  which 
their  predecessors  had  not  discovered  during  seventy-five  years  of 
occupation.  The  relations  of  race  to  horticultural  progress  are  very 
interesting. 

Vicissitudes  of  Early  Vegetable  Growing. — Those  who  first  dis- 
cerned the  fact  that  it  was  easier  to  get  gold  with  the  hoe  than  with 
the  pick,  realized  market  prices  as  surprisingly  great  as  the  vege- 
tables they  grew.  John  M.  Horner,  of  Alameda  County,  is  reported 
to  have  cleared  about  $150,000  from  his  large  venture  of  eight  hun- 
dred acres  in  vegetable  growing  in  1851,  and  others  gained  much 
more  per  acre  than  he,  with  smaller  operations  which  did  not  re- 
quire so  much  high-priced  labor.  But  the  demonstration  of  their 
success  proved  its  destruction.  Plantations  were  made  out  of  all 
proportion  to  requirements  and  disastrous  overproduction  speedily 
ensued.  The  second  year  after  the  exhibition  in  San  Francisco,  to 
which  allusion  has  been  made,  there  was  a  collapse.  The  following 
account  of  potato  growing  shows  how  sharp  was  the  turn  of  affairs : 

In  1852  Beard  &  Horner's  potato  crop  at  Alvarado  averaged  200  sacks 
(about  twelve  tons)  to  the  acre,  and  sold  for  upwards  of  $100,000.  The  fol- 
lowing year  everybody  cultivated  them.  In  Pajaro  valley  20,000  sacks  were 
one  day  bet  on  a  horse-race.  Beard  &  Horner  contracted  theirs  in  advance 
at  two  and  a  half  cents  a  pound  to  San  Francisco  merchants.  Garrison  took 
one  million  pounds,  which  were  never  removed,  but  were  allowed  to  rot  on 
the  ground.  Saunders  &  Co.  purchased  a  large  quantity,  which  they  stowed 
away  in  a  hulk  in  the  bay.  As  warm  weather  came  on  the  potatoes  com- 
menced growing  and  threatened  to  burst  the  vessel  open.  They  commenced 
dumping  the  potatoes  into  the  bay,  but  the  harbor  master  stopped  it,  and  the 
owners  had  to  pay  for  their  removal  to  another  locality.6 

With  the  first  disaster  the  charm  and  spirit  of  pioneer  vege- 
table growing  passed  away.  There  was,  of  course,  quick  recovery 
in  values  and  very  profitable  business  done,  but  it  was  not  the  same 
grand  affair  and  it  did  not  accord  with  the  adventurous  spirit  of 
the  day.  Small  growers  near  the  cities  and  the  mining  camps  did 
well,  but  there  was  not  dash  enough  about  market  gardening  for 


"Interview  with  Hon.  J.  L.  Beard,  in  Oakland  Enquirer,  May  15,  1897. 
6  Centennial  Year  Book  of  Alameda  County,  p.  483. 


THE  CHANCE  FOR  AMERICANS  11 

Americans  and  it  was  soon  given  over  to  immigrants  from  the  south 
of  Europe  and  China  and  has  never  been  recovered.  Field  growth 
of  staple  vegetables  on  a  large  scale  has  been  continued  by  Amer- 
icans, but  even  in  this  line  he  has  often  been  obliged  to  withdraw 
from  competition  with  Chinese,  Portuguese  and  Italians  with  their 
cheaper  labor  supply  and  living  expenses.  Great  enterprises  in  live 
stock,  wheat,  wool  and  fruit  afforded  opportunities  more  to  the 
American  taste  than  vegetable  growing.  The  American  settler  had 
incomparably  more  energy  and  industrial  ambition  than  his  prede- 
cessors, the  Mexicans,  but  he  shared  with  them  a  liking  for  doing 
his  work  in  the  saddle  or  on  the  seat  of  a  riding  plow,  cultivator  or 
harvester.  Within  a  decade  from  the  date  of  the  American  demon- 
stration of  the  unique  fitness  of  California  for  vegetable  growing 
there  arose  occasion  for  frequent  exhortations  to  California  farm- 
ers to  restore  the  garden  to  its  proper  place  in  farm  plan  and  policy, 
and  yet  California  farmers  neglected  to  supply  their  own  tables  and 
the  proper  adornment  of  their  house  yards  until  the  ranch  home  in 
this  land  of  beauty  and  grand  horticultural  opportunities  became  a 
by-word  for  unthrift  and  desolation.  Some  aspects  of  this  matter 
will  be  presented  in  a  following  chapter. 

Competition  with  Foreigners. — One  of  the  difficulties  of  the 
present  situation  is  that  while  the  American-born  Californian  has 
decried  vegetable  growing,  the  immigrants  from  southern  Europe, 
China  and  Japan  have  strongly  entrenched  themselves  in  it.  Now 
the  competition  which  the  American  grower  has  to  encounter  is 
depressing  and  discouraging.  And  yet  the  situation  is  not  at  all 
hopeless.  The  foreigners  are  not,  as  a  rule,  progressive.  They  are 
frugal  and  industrious  to  an  extreme  and  they  undertake  a  great 
deal  to  please  their  customers  with  variety  as  well  as  low  prices. 
In  some  points  the  American  competitor  can  learn  from  them  to 
advantage.  But  it  is  quite  easy  to  surpass  them  in  quality  by  con- 
stant effort  for  improved  varieties,  which  they  are  slow  to  introduce, 
and  to  cheapen  production  by  the  use  of  horse  labor  and  improved 
tools,  while  they  plod  along  with  hand  methods  and  appliances — 
although  it  is  only  fair  to  admit  that  the  Japanese  are  more  progres- 
sive and  ambitious  of  leadership  and  proprietorship  and  therefore 
more  formidable  rivals.  However,  if  the  California  farmer  should 
put  forth  the  same  effort  to  adapt  conditions  to  ends  and  to  keep 
himself  at  the  very  front  in  materials  and  arts  of  production  in  the 
growing  and  selling  of  vegetables  that  he  has  employed  in  the  grow- 
ing and  selling  of  fruit,  we  should  hear  far  less  of  the  superiority 
of  the  foreigner  in  the  vegetable  garden. 

There  have  arisen  during  the  last  few  years  quite  notable  in- 
stances of  the  truth  of  this  claim,  and  almost  everywhere  in  the 
vicinity  of  towns  some  market  gardens  by  Americans  can  be  found. 
The  situation  is  well  portrayed  in  the  following  paragraph  from  an 


12  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

address  at  a  Farmers'  Institute  by  S.  J.  Murdock,  one  of  the  most 
successful  early  vegetable  growers  of  southern  California: 

The  business  of  growing  vegetables  has  grown  step  by  step,  until  at 
present  it  is  a  great  industry,  mostly  in  the  hands  of  Asiatics.  Yet  in  some 
places  white  men  are  getting  a  share  of  the  trade,  and  if  they  would  combine 
and  exchange  vegetables,  as  the  Chinamen  do,  they  would  soon  have  the  bulk 
of  the  business.  The  people  of  California  know  no  seasons  for  the  different 
vegetables,  as  they  do  at  the  East.  They  demand  beets,  lettuce,  onions,  tur- 
nips, radishes  and  cabbage  the  year  round,  and  they  want  asparagus,  peas, 
parsnips,  salsify  and  cauliflower  nearly  all  the  time.  White  men  should  com- 
bine and  exchange  different  kinds,  for  one  man  can  hardly  succeed  in  having 
all  varieties  in  the  proper  quantities,  as  different  soils  and  locations  produce 
different  results.  But  the  average  Californian  does  not  take  kindly  to  the 
business.  He  considers  it  "puttering"  work.  Yet  it  is  far  ahead  of  wheat 
raising.  It  takes  study,  and  lots  of  it,  to  keep  abreast  of  the  times,  for  we 
cannot  raise  the  vegetables  of  ten  or  twenty  years  ago  and  make  a  success  of 
the  business.  There  has  been  as  great  improvement  in  vegetables  as  in  other 
things.  There  is  scarcely  a  region  in  southern  California  where  an  indus- 
trious, energetic  man  could  not  work  up  a  trade  along  this  line.  He  should 
not  expect  to  make  a  fortune  in  a  few  years,  but  after  the  first  few  months 
he  would  have  a  steady  income,  increasing  from  time  to  time,  as  he  learned 
the  wants  of  his  customers  and  catered  to  them. 

Recent  Achievements  in  Vegetable  Growing. — Although  Cali- 
fornia horticulturists  as  a  class  are  charged  with  neglect  of  vege- 
table growing,  prizes  awarded  to  California  growers  by  eastern 
seedsmen  in  competitions  open  to  the  whole  country  show  indisput- 
ably the  eminence  of  California,  and  are  the  more  valuable  because 
the  weights  are  certified  by  the  judges  in  these  contests.  From  our 
records  in  this  line  we  select  a  few,  as  follows : 

Varieties  Weight 

Silver  King  Onion,  single  specimen 4  Ibs.  9  oz. 

Jumbo  Mangel  91  Ibs. 

Imp.  Sugar  Beet  35^  Ibs. 

Wethersfield  Onion,  yield  acre 66,905  Ibs. 

Jumbo  Mangel,         single  specimen 39  Ibs. 

Prizetaker  Onion         "  "         6  Ibs.  2  oz. 

Jumbo  Watermelon     "  131#  Ibs. 

Prizetaker  Onion,  yield  1  oz.  seed 8384  Ibs. 

Silver  Skin  Onion,  largest 4  Ibs.  2  oz. 

Mammoth  Pompeii  Onion 4  Ibs.  8  oz. 

Red  Victoria  Onion  4  Ibs.  12  oz. 

Giant  Intermediate  Mangel 32  Ibs. 

Burpee's  Bush  Lima  Bean,  1  plant 323  pods 

White  Victoria  Onion 5  Ibs.  &/2  oz. 

Great  Divide  Potatoes,  from  1  Ib 542  Ibs. 

Gibraltar  Onion   1  Ib.  15  oz. 

Genuine  Mammoth  Pumpkin 187  Ibs. 

Henderson  Bush  Lima  Bean,  1  plant 294  pods 

Marblehead  Mammoth  Cabbage 81  Ibs. 

Warren  Cabbage    77  Ibs. 

Vegetables  for  Distant  Shipment. — A  new  phase  of  the  vege- 
table-growing industry  of  the  state  arose  with  the  openings  of  the 
overland  railways,  but  it  developed  very  slowly  and  it  was  at  first 
marked  by  great  uncertainty  in  values,  causing  losses  as  notable  as 
profits  to  those  in  the  shipping  trade.  The  railway  freight  rate  has 


SHIPPING,  CANNING  AND  DRYING  13 

been  the  ruling  factor,  though  the  destruction  of  eastern  crops 
through  unfavorable  weather  conditions  has  sometimes  opened  op- 
portunities for  shipment  from  California  in  spite  of  charges  which 
were  at  other  times  prohibitory.  The  eastern  demand  for  some 
kinds  of  vegetables  has,  however,  led  to  the  production  of  several 
important  vegetable  crops  in  very  large  volume  and  has  thus  given 
us  specialty  farming  in  vegetable  lines  somewhat  comparable  with 
our  great  fruit  specialties.  When  this  has  occurred  vegetable  grow- 
ing has  seemed  worthy  of  American  effort  and  our  people  have  been 
proud  to  undertake  production  by  the  car-load  or  train-load  of  the 
very  crops  which  they  would  scorn  to  think  of  growing  by  the 
wagon-load.  The  features  of  this  line  of  production  will  appear  in 
connection  with  the  discussion  of  the  special  kinds  of  vegetables 
which  are  involved  in  it. 

An  idea  of  the  importance  of  vegetable  growing  for  distant 
sale  can  be  had  from  the  following  records  of  railway  shipments  of 
fresh  vegetables  beyond  state  lines,  in  tons  of  2000  pounds : 

1910 78,829  1914 247,512 

1911 130,728  1915 331,941 

1912 129,659  1916 351,265 

1913 147,277 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing  there  are  considerable  shipments 
by  sea  from  the  port  of  San  Francisco  to  Pacific  countries — a 
movement  likely  to  be  largely  increased  by  the  operation  of  the 
Panama  Canal. 

Vegetable  growing  for  distant  shipment  is  quite  different  from 
home  or  truck  gardening.  The  grower  for  shipment  is  a  specialist  ; 
he  grows  but  few  kinds,  and  often  one  kind  only,  and  it  becomes 
necessary  for  him  to  study  the  particular  kind  he  raises  in  all  its 
forms,  not  only  as  to  selection  of  variety,  but  to  obtain  the  very 
best  strain  of  that  variety.  He  also  has  to  study  very  closely  the 
most  economical  methods  of  planting,  cultivation,  harvesting  and 
marketing.  Local  soil,  moisture  and  weather  conditions  determine 
what  crop  to  raise.  Though  we  can  raise  desirable  vegetables  at 
some  time  of  the  year  in  the  same  locality  for  home  use  or  local  sale, 
the  point  to  consider  for  shipment  is  to  raise  that  vegetable  which 
brings  the  best  crop  at  the  right  time  for  shipment. 

Canned  and  Dried  Vegetables. — Another  form  in  which  our 
vegetables  are  reaching  distant  markets  in  considerable  quantities 
is  the  product  of  the  canneries,  of  which  estimates  are  chiefly  based 
upon  the  records  of  Howard  C.  Rowley,  editor  of  California  Fruit 
News,  the  figures  being  numbers  of  cases,  each  containing  two 
dozen  2^2-  and  3-pound  cans,  or  the  equivalent  in  gallon  cans: 

1913  1914  1915  1916 

Asparagus    723,000          768,800          799,480          990,740 

Beans  90,190  77,065  81,905  123,475 

Peas   93,870          162,195          188,667          227,120 

Tomatoes    1,146,560        1,893,650        1,182,705        2,647,300 

Other  Vegetables.      138,710          126,635  119,525          236,525 

Total  cases...  2,192,330       3,028,345        2,372,282       4,225,160 


14  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

The  group  "other  vegetables"  includes  about  25,000  cases  each 
of  spinach  and  squash,  10,000  of  pumpkin  and  5000  of  kraut. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  product  has  doubled  in  four  years.  A 
discussion  of  vegetables  from  a  canner's  point  of  view  will  be  given 
in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

Drying  vegetables  has  been  pursued  in  a  small  way  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  and  was  stimulated  to  great  expectations  when  the 
Alaska  mining  interest  arose  and  packing  food  over  mountain  trails 
was  involved,  but  wherever  transportation  routes  are  established 
the  superior  succulence  of  fresh  and  canned  vegetables  discounts 
the  dried  product  and  the  latter  has  not  reached  great  commercial 
importance. 

Value  of  California  Vegetable  Products. — The  latest  authori- 
tative figures  of  the  acreage  and  value  of  the  products  included  in 
this  treatise  are  those  of  the  U.  S.  Census  of  1909,  which  are  now 
wholly  inadequate.  The  latest  records  in  the  case  of  individual 
crops  will  be  given,  so  far  as  available,  in  the  chapters  severally  de- 
voted to  them.  For  a  general  citation  of  values,  figures  are  drawn 
chiefly  from  the  estimates  of  the  California  Development  Board  as 
published  in  its  report  for  1917,  viz: 

Sugar  beet  $  7,500,000 

Potatoes    14,805,000 

Potatoes,  sweet  960,000 

Beans  20,875,000 

Onions 4,000,000 

Melons 4,000,000 

Seeds,  etc 3,000,000 

Fresh  vegetables    12,000,000 

Total $67,140,000 

Diversity  in  Garden  Practice  in  California. — It  is  hardly  too 
much  to  say  that  California  garden  practice  is  an  epitome  of  ancient 
and  modern  cultural  arts,  for  we  have  both  survival  of  very  old 
methods  and  subterfuges  and  wider  demonstrations  of  the  truth  of 
advanced  conceptions  of  cultural  efficacy  than  can  probably  be 
found  in  any  other  state.  This  is  not  due  to  any  purpose  or  design 
on  the  part  of  our  people.  It  is  merely  their  notable  resources  of 
adaptability  and  ingenuity  brought  to  bear  upon  the  wide  range  of 
conditions  involved  in  our  combined  winter  and  summer  gardening 
which  concentrates  in  a  single  commonwealth  all  the  diversity  one 
might  encounter  if  he  were  a  peripatetic  gardener  with  an  itinerary 
extending  from  Ireland  to  Algeria.  Nor  is  this  remark  intended 
merely  as  a  reference  to  the  natural  diversity  of  the  different  parts 
of  the  state,  because  success  may  require  more  or  less  distinct 
methods  in  summer  and  winter  in  the  same  region.  In  short,  the 
California  gardener  has  to  know  arid-land  practice  and  humid-land 
practice  and  call  them  both  into  requisition  equally  or  incline  toward 


CALIFORNIA  REQUIREMENTS  15 

one  or  the  other  as  his  conditions  demand.  It  takes  a  man  of  some 
depth  and  breadth  to  do  this  and  this  is  the  reason  why  land  owners 
who  have  brought  skilled  horticultural  practitioners  from  abroad  to 
develop  their  properties  have  experienced  so  many  disappointments. 
It  requires  head  as  well  as  handicraft  to  master  the  situation,  as 
subsequent  chapters  will  suggest. 


CHAPTER    II. 
FARMER'S  GARDENS  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

It  has  already  been  admitted  that  there  has  been,  ever  since 
the  development  of  large  farming  enterprises  was  seen  to  be  pos- 
sible in  California,  an  indisposition  on  the  part  of  our  farmers  to 
engage  in  vegetable  growing.  Several  reasons  are  urged  as  ex- 
planatory of  this  very  widespread  sentiment  and  some  of  them  may 
be  cited: 

First:  The  proper  conduct  of  a  large  specialty  farm  gives  no 
time  for  gardening — not  even  for  the  direction  of  work  upon  it — 
and  it  is  better  to  buy  vegetables  than  incur  the  worry  of  a  garden 
patch. 

Second:  In  small  specialty  farming  on  a  limited  acreage  of 
especially  fitted  and  high-priced  land,  it  is  not  profitable  to  set  apart 
land  for  vegetables  when  its  yield  in  the  special  product  may  pay 
several  times  the  cost  of  purchased  vegetables. 

Third:  Success  with  vegetables  in  California  is  very  difficult 
to  attain — especially  so  in  certain  parts  of  the  state — and  a  farmer 
is  more  apt  to  lose  than  to  gain  by  any  venture  he  may  make  in 
that  line. 

Fourth:  It  is  impossible  to  have  a  garden  without  irrigation 
water,  even  on  lands  which  with  ordinary  rainfall  will  yield  cereals 
and  carry  productive  deciduous  fruit  trees  if  they  are  given  good 
summer  cultivation. 

How  Far  Are  the  Objections  Tenable? — It  must  be  granted 
that  there  is  some  force  in  the  demurrer  which  the  California 
farmer  often  enters  against  his  indictment  for  lack  of  thrift  and 
neglect  of  opportunities  in  not  undertaking  to  produce  his  home 
supply  of  fresh,  crisp  and  wholesome  vegetables  instead  of  depend- 
ing upon  the  stale  and  wilted  goods  of  the  itinerant  vendors.  It  is 
perfectly  conceivable  that,  under  certain  conditions,  the  farmer  had 
better  buy  food  supplies  rather  than  produce  them,  consequently  the 
general  denunciation  of  the  unthrift  of  the  California  farmer,  which 
is  often  indulged  in  by  those  who  know  little  of  the  local  situation 
and  conditions,  is  really  unwarranted.  California  conditions,  both  in 
nature  and  in  farm  policy,  are  so  varied  that  criticisms  and  upbraid- 
ings  are  often  misplaced.  And  yet  it  is  perfectly  true  that  vege- 
tables should  be  grown  on  farms  in  California  much  more  gener- 
ally and  in  far  greater  variety  than  they  have  been  hitherto.  It  is 
not  the  intention  of  the  writer  to  urge  this  improvement  upon  senti- 
mental considerations  nor  to  claim,  as  many  seem  inclined  to  do, 
[16] 


WILL,  WATER  AND  WORK  ESSENTIAL  17 

that  it  is  possible  to  compass  it  by  the  fiat  method.  Too  many  of 
our  critics  seem  to  hold  that  all  the  farmer  has  to  do  is  to  declare 
that  there  shall  be  a  garden  and  one  will  spring  up  around  his  foot- 
steps with  ideal  succulence,  richness  and  deliciousness.  It  will  be 
better  to  attempt  to  show  that  there  is  an  opportunity,  providing  its 
requirements  be  duly  met,  and  that  there  are  really  fewer  difficul- 
ties in  the  way  and  greater  rewards  for  prompt  and  intelligent  effort 
than  many  of  our  farmers  imagine.  And  this  can  be  shown  with- 
out elaborate  arguments.  A  more  striking  demonstration  will  prob- 
ably lie  in  showing  to  the  many  the  success  of  the  few,  in  order  that 
they  may  draw  therefrom  lessons  and  exhortations  for  their  own 
incitement  and  success.  This  service  will  be  constantly  held  in  view 
as  this  work  proceeds. 

Essentials  to  Success  in  Gardening. — There  are  three  requisites 
to  success  in  gardening  and  they  may  be  arranged  in  alliteration 
thus,  Will,  Water,  Work.  They  also  stand  in  the  order  of  their 
relative  importance  in  California.  Without  a  strong  impulse  in  the 
will  it  is  vain  to  expect  work  and  water  to  do  their  best.  If  the 
will  is  born  of  taste,  liking,  enthusiasm,  the  task  will  be  delightful 
and  the  results  grand  in  every  way.  Unless  one  has  some  joy  in 
the  rich,  moist  earth  as  it  yields  its  fragrance  to  the  touch  of  his 
tools;  unless  he  can  glory  in  the  quick,  responsive  growth  of  the 
plant  when  his  culture  suits  its  nature,  and  unless  he  find  pride  and 
satisfaction  in  the  armful  of  delicious  vegetables  which  he  brings 
each  day  to  his  helpmeet,  with  the  dewdrops  of  the  early  morning 
still  sparkling  upon  their  foliage,  his  gardening  will  never  be  an  easy 
task  though  it  may  be  conscientiously  and  successfully  discharged. 

But  although  it  is  possible  to  make  a  good  and  profitable  gar- 
den from  a  sense  of  duty  and  though  work  will  reach  its  due  reward 
even  though  one  can  never  bring  himself  to  see  that  the  "primal 
curse"  of  the  race  is  really  its  opportunity,  it  is  a  fact  that  without 
work  there  can  be  no  successful  gardening  in  California.  Perhaps 
work  is  the  price  of  success  everywhere;  perhaps  the  aggregate  of 
muscular  effort  proportional  to  the  result  is  less  in  California  than 
elsewhere,  but  let  no  one  deceive  himself  that  the  California  gar- 
den will  make  itself.  The  item  of  work  may  be  reduced  to  a  min- 
mum  by  intelligent  direction.  Insight  and  observation  will  teach 
just  when  each  act  should  be  performed  to  secure  the  richest  co- 
operative response  from  nature's  forces,  and  to  miss  this  advantage 
will  entail  a  vast  amount  of  unnecessary  effort,  but  the  modicum 
of  incisive  action  must  be  bestowed.  It  will  appear  later,  in  con- 
nection with  the  discussion  of  the  planting  season,  that  timely  work 
is  a  prime  factor — in  fact,  the  pivot  upon  which  the  effort  may  turn 
from  delight  to  disappointment.  California  conditions,  though  ex- 
ceedingly generous,  are  equally  exacting — probably  more  exacting 
than  those  of  humid  climates.  It  is  clear,  then,  that  not  only  is  work 
essential,  but  it  must  be  work  well  directed  and  maintained. 


18  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

The  third  essential  is  water.  By  due  understanding  and  em- 
ployment of  the  characters  of  the  natural  growing  season  and  of 
the  soil  in  each  locality,  it  is  possible  to  produce  a  great  wealth  and 
variety  of  vegetables  in  most  parts  of  the  state  without  irrigation. 
In  some  parts  succession  or  rotation  can  be  carried  through  the 
year  by  the  most  intelligent  cultivation  to  prevent  evaporation  or 
by  the  use  of  land  naturally  and  continuously  moistened  by  under- 
flow. Still,  the  far  greater  area  of  the  state  will  not  give  satisfac- 
tory vegetable  supply  without  additions  to  rainfall  and  the  irrigated 
garden  should  therefore  be  the  end  in  view  in  most  of  our  farm 
planning.  Fortunately  this  is  not  nearly  so  difficult  to  attain  as  is 
commonly  thought,  as  will  be  shown  in  a  later  chapter,  and  if  the 
farm-architect  have  the  will  to  work,  he  will  not  long  lack  the  water 
to  insure  the  perfection  of  his  desires  in  his  home  garden. 

Possible  Exceptions. — These  faint  suggestions  of  the  require- 
ments of  success  in  gardening,  even  on  the  narrow,  farm  plan,  may 
intimate  that  broadside  exhortations  to  vegetable  growing  are  not 
wise  and  they  may  also  shed  some  light  upon  the  reasonableness  of 
those  who  claim  that  they  cannot  profitably  or  successfully  under- 
take it.  Our  great  specialty  farmers  are  apt  to  have  their  heads  and 
hands  too  full  to  think  of  personally  mastering  gardening  practice 
in  a  peculiar  country.  The  attempts  which  have  been  made  to  trans- 
form the  ordinary  farm  hand  into  a  gardener  have  usually  only 
yielded  disappointment,  and  the  professional  gardeners  who  are 
really  worthy  of  the  name  find  it  too  easy  to  acquire  enterprises  of 
their  own  to  warrant  their  wage-earning  on  the  farm  basis.  It 
might  as  well  be  conceded  at  once  that  many  large  farmers  will  do 
better  to  purchase  their  supply  from  some  man  who  has  the  knowl- 
edge and  the  soil  and  water  facilities  for  successful  production. 

It  is  also  true  that  in  many  cases  the  small  scale  specialty 
farmer,  working  a  small  tract  of  high-priced  land  for  a  high-value 
product,  does  well  to  plant  his  entire  holding,  except  his  house  site, 
to  this  product.  But  it  is  also  true  that  other  men  of  this  class  will 
find  the  reservation  of  a  garden  area  a  most  profitable  proceeding. 
What  each  shall  do  depends  upon  his  personal  traits  and  tastes. 

But  though  these  exceptions  exist  and  should  be  considered  in 
any  claims  that  are  made  in  favor  of  much  wider  enlistment  of 
California  farmers  in  gardening  for  the  production,  at  least,  of 
home  supplies,  the  fact  remains  that  farm  gardens  should  be  multi- 
plied and  that,  with  proper  spirit  and  effort  and  appreciation  of  their 
value,  they  can  be  more  easily  secured  than  the  popular  impression 
among  California  farmers  would  indicate.  There  is  a  wealth  of  ex- 
perience to  show  where  good  timely  work  is  done,  under  conditions 
either  naturally  favorable  or  rendered  favorable  by  moderate  effort 
or  investment,  very  gratifying  results  have  been  attained  on  farms 
in  all  parts  of  California. 

Benefits  of  Farm  Gardens. — It  is  trite  to  build  arguments  on 
this  theme,  but  the  points  can  hardly  be  sharpened  by  comment. 


BENEFITS  OF  VEGETABLE  GROWING  19 

The  dietetic  benefit  of  vegetable  food  in  variety  has  been  demon- 
strated both  by  individual  experience  and  by  the  food  studies  which 
are  now  being  systematically  pursued  both  in  this  country  and 
Europe.  Working  force,  thinking  force,  the  quality  of  success  in 
all  lines  of  human  effort,  are  all  promoted  by  a  generous,  well-bal- 
anced food  supply. 

The  hygienic  benefit  of  food,  including  due  amount  of  the  suc- 
culent, aromatic,  tonic  and  assimilable  characters  which  are  inherent 
in  fresh  and  well-grown  vegetables,  is  universally  recognized  by 
authorities.  The  truth  has  particular  force  in  a  region  of  high  tem- 
peratures like  California.  The  so-called  cooling  of  the  blood,  the 
development  of  resistance  to  malaria,  the  free  and  healthful  opera- 
tion of  the  various  functions  of  the  body,  are  unquestionably  pro- 
moted by  vegetable  food. 

The  economic  benefit  of  home-grown  esculents  has  been  most 
clearly  discerned  during  the  last  few  years  and  the  result  is  a  grati- 
fying increase  of  interest  in  farm  gardening.  More  vegetables  have 
been  grown  recently  on  California  farms  than  ever  before.  The 
low  market  values  of  some  of  our  most  important  special  products 
have  given  an  impetus  to  diversification  of  crops  which  a  century 
of  exhortation  could  not  have  compassed.  California  farmers  have 
recognized  as  never  before  that  sound  farm  policy  generally  requires 
the  home  production  of  most  food  supplies.  Those  who  have  en- 
dured with  least  hardship  financial  stress  of  beginning  a  farm  enter- 
prise are  those  who  have  had  least  to  buy  and  not  those  who  had 
most  to  sell.  Many  a  farm  has  been  saved  from  the  mortgagee  by 
the  yield  of  subsidiary  products  for  home  use  and  for  exchange  for 
essential  home  supplies.  In  this  most  important  service  the  vege- 
table garden  has  done  its  full  share  and  has  thus  commended  itself 
to  the  attention  of  many  who  formerly  looked  upon  the  growth  of 
"garden  sass"  as  a  sort  of  ignoble  pothering.  The  farm  garden 
saves  money  and  makes  money  if  it  is  given  adequate  thought  and 
generous  effort. 

This  exhortation  can  be  given  forceful  concreteness  by  the  fol- 
lowing actual  instance  which  occurred  in  one  of  our  warmer  coast 
valleys : 

"My  garden  consists  of  one  acre  of  good  river  bottom  land,  and  as  a  mat- 
ter of  course  is  under  good  tilth.  Besides  what  we  used  at  home  and  gave 
away,  we  sold  to  our  neighbors  as  follows: 

Green  onions   $16.00      Cauliflower   $7.00 

Spinach    4.00      Green  corn  10.50 

Early  cabbage   12.00      Squashes    8.00 

Lettuce  2.25      Tomatoes    18.00 

Beets 3.00 

Turnips    4.00  Total $84.75 

"What  can  be  more  profitable?  Any  farmer  can  do  as  well  if  he  will  only 
try.  How  did  we  do  it?  I  will  tell  you.  Early  in  November  we  planted  top 
onions  on  one-half  acre,  and  on  the  other  half  we  planted  spinach,  beets,  let- 
tuce, turnips,  and  carrots.  Our  seed  beds  were  made  in  December,  and  as 
soon  as  the  onions  were  ready  to  pull  we  replaced  them  with  cabbages,  pulling 


20  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

our  onions  with  regard  to  such  planting,  also  making  room  for  a  succession 
of  early  peas  and  snap  beans,  and  finally  cucumbers.  Of  the  last  three  articles 
we  sold  a  good  quantity,  and  the  product  will  raise  the  total  amount  produced 
for  the  season  to  over  $100." 

This  is  not  an  isolated  instance.  Anyone  can  do  it  who  can 
command  the  "essentials  to  success"  previously  considered,  and 
almost  anyone  can  utterly  fail  of  doing  it  without  them.  A  hint  is 
given  of  the  succession  of  crops  possible  in  the  California  garden. 
There  will  be  much  of  that  hereafter,  and  it  will  also  appear  that 
making  seed  beds  for  winter-growing  vegetables  in  December  is 
altogether  too  late.  Many  vegetables  should  be  edible  by  that  time, 
from  a  beginning  in  August  and  September. 

The  social  benefit  of  the  farm  garden  may  enter  the  realm  of 
sentiment  but  it  is  none  the  less  true,  potent  and  precious.  The 
farm  with  a  garden  is  an  inexpressibly  better  home  than  without  it. 
The  garden  wins  interest;  it  dispenses  content.  It  awakens  home 
pride  and  strengthens  home  love.  It  has  actual  educational  value 
in  that  it  directly  imparts  useful  lessons  in  plant  growth  and  re- 
quirements which  are  applicable  to  all  other  farm  operations.  It 
has  lessons  also  to  quicken  the  love  of  the  beautiful  which,  in  turn, 
leads  in  all  phases  of  home  improvement  and  lifts  the  standard  of 
rural  manhood  and  womanhood. 

Of  Especial  Applicability  to  California. — All  these  benefits  of 
the  installation  of  a  garden  area  on  the  farm  should  be  especially 
striven  for  in  California  because  they  can  be  realized  here  in  excep- 
tional measure.  The  well-planned  California  garden  is  evergreen. 
It  admits  of  succession  and  rotation  within  the  year,  so  that  a 
twelve  month  is  the  producing  equivalent  of  twice  or  thrice  its  dura- 
tion in  wintry  climates.  Here  the  garden  does  not  insist  upon  in- 
truding its  claims  just  in  the  "rush  of  spring  work"  which  is  known 
in  lands  of  more  marked  seasonal  transitions.  It  is  well  content  to 
be  "ahead  of  the  rush"  the  whole  year  round,  but  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  it  stubbornly  rebels  against  being  behind  it.  Not  only 
is  succession  of  tender  growths  made  possible  by  the  long  f  restless 
term,  but  more  than  half  of  the  common  garden  vegetables  are  so 
hardy  that  they  maintain  growth  even  through  our  short  frosty  sea- 
son and,  with  irrigation  on  lands  which  need  it,  thrive  the  whole 
year  in  the  open  air.  Rich  is  the  endowment  which  a  semi-tropical 
climate  bestows  upon  the  gardener.  He  who  does  not  avail  himself 
of  it  for  his  own  comfort  and  profit  buries  his  talent  into  the  earth. 

The  Garden  in  Mixed  Farming. — During  the  last  few  years, 
aside  from  the  greater  interest  in  vegetable  growing  on  the  part  of 
the  settlers,  which  has  been  noted,  there  has  been  a  decided  gain 
through  the  efforts  of  newer  residents  to  make  their  smaller  hold- 
ings self-supplying  and  income-yielding,  as  well,  by  due  attention  to 
vegetable  growing.  All  through  the  state,  but  especially  in  south- 
ern California,  the  interest  has  quickened  and  the  accomplishment 
has  shown  that  the  old  idea  that  only  special,  narrow  areas  were 


THE  HOME  GARDEN  A  BLESSING  21 

suited  to  garden  locations  was  a  misconception.  Instances  are  ample 
to  show  not  only  that  proper  practice  brings  ample  success  almost 
everywhere,  but  such  practice,  coupled  with  intelligent  planning, 
yields  such  variety  of  delicious  esculents  as  only  a  semi-tropical 
climate  allows.  This  is  one  of  the  distinctive  advantages  of  Cali- 
fornia and  it  favors  the  development  of  small  farms  of  mixed  hus- 
bandry as  well  as  those  devoted  to  specialties.  Of  course  there  are 
limitations  and  locations  should  be  selected  with  discrimination  for 
either  mixed  or  special  farming.  The  mixed  farm  in  an  ever-grow- 
ing climate  makes  requirements  it  is  true,  but  it  also  bestows  com- 
pensations. As  the  forces  ministering  to  growth  are  continuously 
active,  the  full  use  of  them  bespeaks  corresponding  activity  on  the 
part  of  man.  There  must  be  a  determination  to  make  almost  every 
moment  tell  in  some  useful  effort.  There  will  be  play  for  the  sharp- 
est ingenuity  in  devising  means  and  methods  for  time-saving  and 
ceaseless  study  to  make  the  soil  bear  the  burden  of  the  table  to  the 
fullest  degree.  Small  farming  requires  genius,  devotion,  and  a  spirit 
of  content.  Its  work,  when  one  acquires  or  is  born  with  a  liking 
for  it,  is  full  of  cheer  and  enjoyment.  Its  varied  nature  is  itself  a 
charm.  The  trees,  vines,  plants,  and  domestic  animals  will  rise 
almost  to  the  plane  of  companionship.  Man,  wife  and  children  will 
join  in  the  spirit  of  the  enterprise  they  are  carrying  on  with  united 
heart  and  hand,  and  love  for  home  will  grow  and  blossom  forth  as 
it  seldom  does  in  mansions  or  on  princely  estates.  Thus  the  modest 
calling  has  its  compensations. 

The  influence  of  such  home  upon  the  state  is  most  salutary. 
Sound  ideas  of  economy  become  prevalent ;  honor  and  honesty  are 
qualities  which  win  popular  approval.  Thus,  the  state  becomes 
really  prosperous  and  sound  at  the  core.  The  crowning  need  of 
California  agriculture  is  to  build  up  enterprises  which  will  stand 
alone.  We  have  been  leaning  too  long  on  the  shoulders  of  bankers 
and  commission  merchants  and  commanders  of  country  stores. 
Without  them  it  is  true  much  that  has  been  done  could  not  have 
been  accomplished,  but  it  is  also  true  that  many  losing  efforts  which 
have  been  vainly  put  forth  would  never  have  been  attempted,  and 
those  who  have  made  these  efforts  would  be  the  better  for  it.  Who 
can  tell  how  many  would  have  attained  moderate  and  comfortable 
successes  if  they  had  started  without  encumbrance  on  a  modest  plan 
instead  of  wasting  time  with  big  schemes  whose  whole  returns  have 
gone  to  feed  hungry  mortgages  and  interest  accounts,  until  failure 
has  swept  from  them  the  property  which  they  proudly  hoped  to 
possess  ? 

But  why  intrude  this  homily?  The  garden  is  one  of  the  ele- 
ments of  success  in  mixed  farming.  Around  it  other  elements 
naturally  gather.  As  gleaners  and  profitable  transformers  of  gar- 
den wastes  and  surpluses  into  home  supplies  and  garden  restoratives, 
the  cow,  the  pig,  and  the  hen  await  outside  the  garden  fence.  Be 
sure  to  keep  them  there,  and  the  garden  will  be  a  liberal  contributor 
to  their  vigor  and  productiveness. 


CHAPTER     III. 

CALIFORNIA'S  CLIMATE  AS  RELATED 
TO  VEGETABLE  GROWING. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  attempt  an  elaborate  exposition  of  the 
characters  of  the  California  climate.  Such  characterization  has 
been  made  by  different  authorities  from  various  points  of  view.* 
It  may  be  claimed  in  a  general  way  that  our  climates  are  as  kindly 
disposed  toward  vegetable  growth  as  they  are  toward  the  develop- 
ment of  fruits  or  the  early  maturity,  thrift  and  comfort  of  animals. 
The  ordinary  exemption  from  ground-freezing  at  any  time  of  the 
year;  the  absence  or  very  rare  and  localized  occurrence  of  soil-shift- 
ing winds  or  even  of  winds  to  prostrate  tall  growths ;  freedom  from 
wide  extremes  in  temperature;  and  only  occasionally  great  changes 
in  atmospheric  humidity;  adequate  heat  for  rapid  growth  with  a 
dry,  but  seldom  desiccating  air,  which  prevents  much  of  the  fungous 
growth  of  hot,  humid  climates  and  consequently  insures  a  grand  and 
healthy  leaf-action  to  the  plant;  abundant  sunshine,  but  seldom,  and 
then  only  in  few  localities,  rising  to  leaf  burning;  ample  moisture 
either  by  rainfall  or  irrigation,  or  one  supplementing  the  other — all 
these  characters  and  others  like  them,  constitute  a  climate  of  excep- 
tional advantage  to  the  vegetable  grower.  They  reduce  provisions 
for  protection  to  a  minimum ;  a  cloud  of  smoke  for  the  frost ;  a  high 
fence  or  a  line  of  trees  for  the  wind,  a  lath  or  slight  brush  covering 
or  the  neighborly  shadow  of  a  taller  growth  for  the  most  tender 
foliage ;  frequent  cultivation  to  retain  moisture  in  the  soil  after  rain 
or  irrigation,  and  the  garden  will  go  through  the  year  with  ample 
protection  at  its  weakest  points.  And  all  these  are  not  needed  in 
the  same  locality;  in  fact,  some  localities  need  none  of  them  except 
the  moisture  retention  which  is  universal. 

Autumnal  and  Vernal  Springtimes. — Spring  is  defined  as  "the 
one  of  the  four  seasons  when  plants  begin  to  grow,"  and  Califor- 
nia is  fortunate  in  doubling  the  blessings  of  springtime  which  most 
parts  of  the  world  enjoy.  First  there  is  the  autumnal  springtime 
which  follows  the  heat  in  the  interior  valleys,  bringing  a  delicious 
coolness  to  the  early  morning  and  crystal  clearness  to  the  atmos- 
phere which  reveals  the  distant  mountain  tops  with  a  sharpness 
which  their  outlines  do  not  often  reveal  through  the  haze  of  sum- 
mer. There  is  also  the  autumnal  springtime  in  the  coast  regions, 
which  brings  a  little  higher  heat  because  the  arrest  of  ocean  winds 
gives  the  declining  sun  opportunity  to  warm  the  earth  as  even  the 


•Consult  "California  Fruits  and  How  to  Grow  Them,"  Chapters  1  and  2,  "California 
Garden  Flowers,"  Chapter  2. 

[22] 


TWO  SPRINGTIMES  IN  CALIFORNIA  23 

vertical  sun  of  midsummer  could  not  do  because  of  the  screen  of 
summer  fogs  which  the  landward  winds  interposed.  These  two 
manifestations,  differing  in  effects  upon  the  coast  and  in  the  interior, 
are  simply  phases  of  one  seasonal  change  and  mark  the  approach 
of  the  autumnal  springtime  in  California,  the  beginning  of  a  new 
growing  season,  the  advent  of  another  crop-year — reminding  the 
California  ruralist  of  new  duties  and  announcing  new  opportunities 
to  one  who  understands  the  superlative  advantage  in  California  of 
beginning  early  and  keeping  everlastingly  at  it  to  get  the  most  from 
the  land  and  from  his  own  labor. 

Of  course,  California  has  also  the  delights  of  the  true  vernal 
springtime,  marked  by  the  change  from  the  short,  dark  days  of  the 
rainy  season,  to  the  more  abundant  light  and  heat  of  the  drier 
months ;  a  season  of  blossoms  and  flowers  and  of  activity  of  the  ten- 
derer plants,  when  the  "rare  days  of  June"  appear  in  the  California 
March  and  April.  Of  the  two  California  springtimes  which  attend 
the  equinoxes,  the  one  of  September  is  the  greater  in  agricultural 
and  horticultural  signficance  because  it  is  really  the  beginnning  of 
the  crop-year  and  because  timely  work  then  gives  success  with 
plants  which  make  their  returns  during  the  winter  and,  besides  that, 
it  insures  the  best  results  with  other  plants  which  yield  their  re- 
wards in  the  dry  season  which  lies  beyond.  The  delicious  Septem- 
ber weather  with  us  is  not,  therefore,  an  outholding  of  cheer  to  en- 
courage one  to  endure  an  approaching  winter  but  a  foretaste  of  the 
delights  of  a  rainy  season  which,  except  during  actual  storms,  is  a 
time  of  plowing  and  sowing,  planting  and  pruning  and  of  other  fun- 
damental operations  which  underlie  the  success  of  the  year.  The 
March  springtime,  on  the  other  hand,  opens  the  way  to  the  haste  of 
haying  and  harvest,  the  distress  of  late  plantings  in  high  heat  for 
which  they  have  no  proper  rooting,  unless  the  grower  comes  to 
their  relief  with  cultivation  as  their  needs  require.  The  September 
springtime  looks  to  a  beginning  and  the  March  springtime  to  a  finish 
of  the  year — so  far  as  a  finish  can  come  to  a  year  which  is  action 
from  end  to  end. 

Geographical  Distribution  of  Production. — According  to  the 
United  States  census  of  1910  the  plants  generally  classified  as  vege- 
tables, and  which  are  included  in  this  treatise,  yielded  value  to  the 
grower  of  half  a  million  or  more  in  ten  California  counties,  as  fol- 
lows: 


Alameda    , 
Contra  Costa   .  . 
Los  Angeles  .  .  . 
Orange  
Sacramento     .  .  . 

,  .  .  $  841,885 
.  .  .     1,230,155* 
.  .  .     1,473,521 
.  .  .     1,194,627 
914,374* 

San  Joaquin  
San  Luis  Obispo 
Santa  Barbara  .  . 
Santa  Clara   .... 
Ventura   

..  $2,683,277* 
659,137 
..     1,114,113 
715,730 
.  .    2,773,687 

Of  the  foregoing  counties  seven  are  in  coast  valleys  and  three 
(marked  *)  are  interior  valley  lowlands,  so  far  as  their  vegetable 
products  are  involved.  Some  of  them  are  contiguous ;  some  of  them 


24  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

five  hundred  miles  apart.     This  demonstrates  the  breadth  of  Cali- 
fornia's adaptation  to  great  commercial  production  of  vegetables. 

LOCAL  VARIATIONS  IN  CLIMATE. 

Although  it  is  possible  to  grow  almost  all  vegetables  every- 
where in  the  state  by  intelligently  selecting  the  proper  time  of  the 
year  for  each,  which  will  be  shown  later,  and  although  a  few  locali- 
ties have  climates  so  uniform  and  equable  that  by  providing  proper 
moisture  conditions  nearly  all  vegetables  can  be  grown  all  the  year, 
it  is  still  possible  to  define  regions  with  somewhat  distinctive  climatic 
characters  bearing  upon  garden  and  field  growth  of  edible  plants. 

Coast  Valleys. — The  greatest  volume  of  vegetable  products  of 
California  is  at  present  grown  in  the  coast  valleys.  This  term 
includes  both  well-defined  valleys  of  greater  or  less  breadth,  and 
stretches  of  rather  flat  or  gently  sloping  land,  open  to  ocean  influ- 
ences. It  is  a  region  extending  the  whole  length  of  the  state  and 
lying  between  the  highest  elevation  of  the  Coast  Range  and  the 
ocean.  In  the  upper  half  of  the  state  it  is  composed  chiefly  of  well- 
defined  valleys  somewhat  parallel  to  the  coast,  but  protected  by  low 
ranges  which  modify  and  mollify  ocean  influences,  insuring  higher 
temperature  and  more  gentle  winds  than  are  found  directly  on  the 
coast.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  state  the  region  chiefly  consists 
of  broad  areas  quite  open  to  the  ocean  but  needing  no  barriers  from 
it  because,  owing  to  the  trend  of  the  coast,  the  lower  latitude  and  the 
greater  distance  south  from  the  source  of  the  prevailing  air  currents, 
the  ocean  influences  are  themselves  modified  before  they  reach  the 
lands.  In  all  this  vast  region,  then,  similar  conditions  prevail,  locally 
modified,  however,  enough  to  create  some  marked  differences  in 
degree,  which  have  been  well  utilized  as  the  basis  of  special  produc- 
tion. Temperature  rises  and  rainfall  decreases  as  you  proceed  south- 
ward. And  yet  though  these  differences  may  notably  localize  pro- 
duction, the  whole  coast  region  north  and  south  has  this  in  common ; 
it  has  a  more  equable  and  lower  temperature  and  a  more  generous 
rainfall  than  the  interior  valley  at  its  own  latitude ;  it  also  has  lighter 
frosts,  growing  lighter  still  toward  the  south  until  it  encloses  regions 
here  and  there  which  favoring  topography  makes  practically  frost- 
less.  Such  situations  favor  all-the-year  growth  of  the  tenderest 
vegetables,  and  perennial  beans  and  tomato  trees  are  possible. 

Interior  Lowlands. — The  region  next  in  importance  in  vege- 
table production  comprises  the  lower  lands  of  the  interior  valleys. 
They  lie  along  the  two  great  rivers  of  the  northern  and  central  parts 
of  California — the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  and  their  tribu- 
taries. These  rivers  flow  from  nearly  two  hundred  miles,  north  and 
south  of  their  confluence,  where  they  mingle  their  waters  through 
numerous  sloughs  until  the  joint  streams  pour  through  a  gap  in  the 
coast  range  into  San  Francisco  Bay.  The  same  gap  which  lets  out 
the  waters  admits  the  ocean  current  of  moisture-laden  wind  and 
moderates  the  heat  of  the  entire  interior  valley,  but  naturally  dis- 


RIVER  LANDS  FOR  VEGETABLES  25 

penses  most  moisture,  and  coolness  over  the  lowlands  which  lie  just 
in  its  course  as  it  rushes  northward  and  southward  to  displace  the 
air  which  is  rarified  by  the  sun  heat  on  the  interior  plains  of  the 
great  valley.  These  interior  lowlands  along  the  lower  stretches  of 
the  rivers  have,  then,  an  interior  climate  modified  by  the  intrusion 
from  the  coast,  but  this  only  acts  in  full  measure  during  June,  July 
and  August.  It  acts,  therefore,  as  a  moderator  of  heat  and  drought 
during  that  period  and  supplements  the  supply  of  aqueous  vapor 
which  rises  by  evaporation  from  the  immense  acreage  of  tule 
swamps  and  shallow  lakes  which  surround  the  tillable  lands  of  the 
region.  Climatic  conditions  in  this  large  interior  area  favor  the 
growth  of  vegetables  and  its  producing  capacity  is  beyond  any  pres- 
ent commercial  use  which  can  be  made  of  it.  But  though  it  has  a 
temporary  coast  modification,  as  has  been  stated,  it  falls  back  into 
interior  habits  when  restraint  is  removed.  It  has  intervals  of  hot, 
dry  winds  which  exclude  the  ocean  air-currents  from  access  to  the 
valley  and  then  intense  dry  heat  calls  for  ample  water  supply,  which, 
fortunately,  however,  is  easily  applied,  because  at  such  season  the 
rivers  and  sloughs  are  running  full  and  if  seepage  is  not  enough, 
siphons  or  flood-gates  admit  water  from  the  high-running  rivers,  or 
pumps  yield  great  volumes  at  little  cost.  But  the  interior  lowlands 
have  another  more  grievous  trait.  As  they  lie  very  low  they  are 
the  scenes  of  the  latest  spring  and  earliest  autumn  frosts  and  their 
season  for  tender  vegetables  is  shorter  than  that  of  the  coast,  though 
with  their  higher  heat  and  copious  moisture  their  mid-season  product 
of  these  tender  crops  may  out- volume  a  slower,  longer  season  on 
the  coast.  But  the  earliest  and  the  latest  tender  vegetables  do  not 
come  from  the  interior  lowlands. 

There  are  interior  lowlands  of  wonderful  producing  capacity 
at  considerable  distances  from  the  confluence  of  the  two  rivers  just 
mentioned.  For  about  three  hundred  miles  the  river  lands  extend 
both  northward  and  southward,  offering  an  area  of  moist  or  easily 
irrigated  land  of  such  fertility  and  extent  that  it  suggests  its  own 
ability  to  produce  vegetables  for  the  whole  country.  At  present 
hardly  an  appreciable  fraction  of  one  per  cent  of  it  is  employed  in 
production  for  which  it  is  best  fitted.  In  the  future  its  lower  levels 
will  be  the  Holland  and  its  upper  extensions  the  Nile  valley  of  Cali- 
fornia. The  farther  these  lowlands  lie  from  the  mouths  of  the  rivers 
the  less  they  receive  of  coast  influences.  This  gives  the  distant  low- 
lands a  higher  temperature  and  greater  forcing  power  upon  vege- 
tation. The  nights  are  warm  as  well  as  the  days.  Vegetables  of 
prodigious  size  and  acre-crops  which  tax  credulity,  are  the  result  of 
the  favoring  conditions.  But  these  lands  are  low  and  danger  of  frost 
makes  it  necessary  to  select  crops  for  hardiness  during  a  part  of  the 
year. 

Interior  Plains  and  Foothills. — Above  and  away  from  the  low- 
lands of  the  rivers  and  their  deltas  the  interior  plains  stretch  far  as 


26  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

the  eye  can  reach,  and  rise,  both  on  the  east  and  west,  into  the  foot- 
hills of  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  the  coast  ranges.  In  southern  Cali- 
fornia somewhat  similar  regions  occur  as  the  lands  rise  from  the 
coast  flats  to  the  mesas  and  foothills  of  the  high,  incurved  mountain 
range.  There  are  similar  climatic  conditions  prevailing  through 
these  vast  interior  regions  both  north  and  south.  The  rainfall  is 
light  as  compared  with  the  coast  until  the  mountain  climate  is  en- 
countered at  varying  elevations,  when  it  becomes  even  greater  than 
on  the  coast.  The  mean  temperature  is  higher  and,  except  in  certain 
localities,  the  frosts  cover  a  shorter  period  and  are  less  severe. 
Winter  growth  of  vegetables  is  widely  feasible  and  plants  of  less 
hardihood  than  those  of  the  lowlands  are  usually  safe.  But  the  rains 
cease  earlier  in  the  spring  and  heat  and  drought  make  irrigation 
essential  long  before  it  is  required  below.  For  summer  growth  of 
vegetables,  except  on  small  areas  moistened  by  underflow  from 
mountain  springs  or  valley  cienegas,  irrigation  must  be  provided. 
These  are  the  regions  which  are  most  apt  to  be  condemned  as  unfit 
for  vegetable  growing,  and  it  is  upon  such  lands  that  most  failures 
and  disappointments  occur.  It  is  true  that  local  climatic  conditions 
here  need  most  radical  modification  by  art  of  man,  but  it  is  here 
also  that  prompt  and  timely  work  and  adequate  irrigation,  wind  pro- 
tection and  partial  shade  win  their  greatest  victories.  There  is  really 
no  reason  why  the  energetic,  enterprising  man  should  hesitate  for  a 
moment  about  undertaking  preparation  for  his  home  supply  of  vege- 
tables. Commercial  undertakings  in  vegetable  growing  may  have  to 
be  confined  to  few  plants  grown  just  at  the  right  moment,  but  even 
a  small  water  supply  with  ample  will  and  work  will  give  a  full 
variety  for  the  family  table. 

At  certain  elevations  on  the  mesas  and  foothills  of  the  interior 
valley,  sheltered  by  local  topography,  are  practically  f  rostless  regions 
with  ample  winter  rains  where  winter  growth  is  so  fostered  that  the 
earliest  vegetables  as  well  as  the  earliest  fruits  are  produced.  Some 
tender  vegetables  may  be  ready  for  the  table  on  the  higher  location 
before  it  is  safe  to  plant  the  seed  on  the  lower  level.  And  the  two 
situations  may  be  in  full  sight  of  each  other.  It  is  a  fact  that  in 
small  valleys  of  the  foothills  late  and  early  frosts,  sharp  and  destruc- 
tive, may  be  more  prevalent  than  on  the  lowlands  of  the  broad  val- 
ley below,  while  on  the  slopes  above  them  tender  plants  may  be  safe. 

Irrigated  Desert  Valleys. — During  the  last  decade  a  new  region 
with  distinctly  different  characteristics  and  capacities  has  become 
prominent  and  has  achieved  notable  development.  It  includes  val- 
leys east  of  the  high  mountains  of  southern  California  and  com- 
prises the  extreme  southeast  area  of  the  state,  and  is  largely  the 
ancient  flood  plain  of  the  Colorado  river,  whose  deep  alluvial  soils 
are  now  irrigated  by  waters  from  the  river  which  originally  made 
them.  It  is  known  as  the  Imperial  Valley,  and  has  tributaries,  like 
the  Coachella  Valley,  etc.  It  is  distinctly  the  earliest  region  of  the 
state,  being  wholly  excluded  from  coast  influences  and  having  the 


INTERIOR  IRRIGATED  GARDENS  27 

advantages  of  vernal  heat  from  its  south  latitude,  which  comes  so 
early  that  it  practically  banishes  winter  from  the  list  of  the  seasons. 
Such  conditions  have  favored  the  development  of  a  cantaloup  in- 
dustry which  markets  its  product  in  all  parts  of  the  United  States 
before  any  other  region  can  enter  into  competition  with  it.  The 
growth  of  winter  cabbage  is  also  largely  undertaken  and  other  early 
vegetables  and  fruits  are  produced  to  the  extent  justified  by  the 
market  demand.  As  the  season  advances,  however,  its  adaptability 
to  the  growth  of  succulents  becomes  restricted  to  those  which  can 
endure  high  heat  and  resist  desiccation  by  desert  winds  which  occa- 
sionally prevail. 

Mountain  Valleys. — Among  the  mountain  peaks  and  ridges 
from  three  thousand  feet  upward  are  slopes  and  valleys  which  are 
very  productive  of  vegetables.  As  elevation  increases  wintry  fea- 
tures become  intensified  and  range  of  winter  growth  less  and  less 
until  in  the  true  "mountain  valleys,"  which  lie  among  the  summits 
of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  the  winter  is  a  closed  season  of  snow  and  ice 
and  the  garden  becomes  a  summer  affair  as  in  the  eastern  states. 
Growth,  however,  during  the  open  season  is  very  rapid  and  satis- 
factory, moisture  is  abundant  and  irrigation  facilities  ample  in  the 
abundant  supplies  of  snow  waters  from  above,  which  need,  how- 
ever, to  be  moderated  in  temperature  before  distribution.  In  this 
region  gardening  seasons  and  practices  are  more  comparable  with 
eastern  policies  and  methods  and  are  not  characteristically  Calif  or- 
nian  as  the  term  is  usually  understood. 

GENERAL  CHARACTERS  OF  CALIFORNIA  CLIMATE. 

The  proper  conclusion  from  the  foregoing  discussion  is  that 
each  California  locality  must  be  separately  studied  to  determine  its 
climatic  adaptations  for  vegetable  growing  and  its  season  for  the 
best  discharge  of  the  various  gardening  duties.  Although,  as  will 
appear  from  time  to  time  all  through  this  treatise,  very  few  general 
prescriptions  such  as  are  popular  as  "gardening  calendars,"  "work 
for  the  month,"  etc.,  in  regions  of  less  climatic  diversity,  can  be 
given  as  a  guide  to  work  in  this  state,  still  there  are  some  generaliza- 
tions concerning  leading  climatic  features  as  related  to  vegetable 
growing  which  may  be  of  assistance  to  distant  readers  or  newcomers. 

Relative  Occurrences  of  Cloudiness  and  Sunshine  in  California 
Regions. — Due  proportion  of  sunlight,  warmth  and  moisture  is  nec- 
essary to  produce  quick  and  healthy  vegetation.  Cloudiness  is  also 
an  important  element,  since  the  presence  of  clouds  screens  the  earth 
and  diminishes  the  heat  received  by  vegetation  from  the  direct  rays 
of  the  sun.  So  also,  acting  as  a  screen,  it  prevents  in  a  measure  the 
radiation  of  heat  from  the  earth  into  space,  and  this  materially  tends 
to  modify  and  reduce  the  daily  range  of  temperature,  so  that  grow- 
ing vegetation  is  not  subject  to  as  great  cold  as  would  otherwise 
obtain  during  the  night,  nor  on  the  other  hand,  does  it  receive  the 
full  amount  of  solar  heat  by  day. 


28  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

The  average  percentage  of  sunshine  by  seasons,  with  the  aver- 
age number  of  actually  clear  days,  is  as  follows  for  the  stations 
named,  as  deduced  from  the  records  of  the  United  States  Weather 
Bureau  for  a  number  of  years: 

TABLE  OF  CLOUDS  AND  SUNSHINE  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

WINTER  SPRING  SUMMER  AUTUMN 

if  rr    ir  rr    ir  *r    ir  ^ 

STATIONS  Sf         S.5  S.5  S.5  S.S 

r     5 a       £"     ^       r     Si       S"    Si 

j>  ~  p  j»  r  p  «  .   p  «»  r  p 

Eureka..  52  12  50  12  72  21  64  33 

San  Francisco 53  35  57  38  57  29  65  42 

Los  Angeles 66  49  56  36  69  39  75  54 

San  Diego... 61  37  51  26  54  24  63  38 

Red  Bluff 55  38  62  42  88  80  78  70 

Sacramento 63  39  69  52  93  85  82  68 

Keeler 74  60  76  61  88  79  84  74 

Fresno 55  31  66  51  93  85  85  65 

Many  useful  deductions  may  be  drawn  from  the  above  compila- 
tion. It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  however,  that  the  weather  con- 
ditions most  favorable  for  vegetable  growing  are  in  some  respects 
different  from  those  which  minister  to  the  perfection  of  fruits.  The 
fruit  tree,  with  its  roots  deep  in  a  moist  soil,  welcomes  high  heat  to 
mature  its  fruit.  The  perfection  of  the  esculent  falls  far  short  of 
the  maturity  of  the  plant  and  lies  mainly  in  the  measure  and  tender- 
ness of  foliage,  stem,  immature  fruit  or  fleshy  root.  These  are  usu- 
ally best  attained  at  a  degree  of  heat  less  than  required  for  fruit 
ripening.  Again  edible  plants  as  compared  with  trees  are  shallow- 
rooting  and  suffer  in  a  very  hot  surface  soil  which  a  tree  escapes  by 
penetration  of  the  subsoil.  The  growth  of  winter  vegetables  is  ad- 
vanced by  abundant  sunshine  during  the  rainy  season;  the  growth 
of  summer  vegetables  is  promoted  by  cloud-screen  from  excessive 
sun  heat,  and  it  is  clearly  refreshed  by  a  summer  fog.  Herein,  in 
part  at  least,  lies  the  explanation  why  the  earliest  vegetables  come 
from  moderately  elevated  interior  regions  (except  as  already  noted 
for  interior  irrigated  desert  valleys)  and  the  main  crop  of  midseason 
and  late  vegetables  is  to  be  sought  in  regions  whose  climate  is  modi- 
fied by  cool  coast  winds,  which  sometimes  carry  fogs  and  always 
temper  sun  action  by  their  content  of  insensible  aqueous  vapor. 
Some  plants  are  especially  responsive  to  this  action  of  coast  breezes. 
Lima  beans  on  the  Ventura  coast  are  sometimes  rescued  from  failure 
through  deficient  rainfall  by  days  of  cool,  misty  breezes  from  the 
adjacent  ocean.  The  same  is  true  in  varying  degrees  of  all  vegeta- 
tion and  the  fact  is  often  of  very  great  economic  importance  to 
California. 

Distribution  of  Rainfall. — The  local  rainfall  throughout  the 
state  has,  of  course,  about  the  same  relation  to  local  gardening  as  it 
has  to  other  farm  work,  but  it  seems  hardly  necessary  to  discuss  it 


WHEN  RAINS  MAY  BE  EXPECTED  29 

in  this  place,  because  it  is  possible  now  to  secure  the  data  from 
different  sources.  Local  observers  almost  everywhere  can  furnish 
the  facts.  It  is,  however,  pertinent  to  present  a  general  compilation 
which  fixes  approximately  the  date  at  which  effective  rains  may  be 
expected  in  each  main  division  of  the  state  and  thus  impart  a  some- 
what definite  notion  of  when  the  natural  season  of  growth  will  begin. 
All  should  be  in  readiness  beforehand  to  seize  upon  this  opportunity 
for  soil  working,  if  one  is  to  proceed  without  irrigation,  and  for  the 
planting  of  seeds  of  hardy  vegetables  which  will  withstand  the  local 
winter  temperature  and  give  the  earliest  readiness  for  use  under  the 
circumstances. 

When  the  First  Rains  May  Be  Expected. — The  rainfall  at  San 
Francisco  is  very  close  to  the  mean  between  the  heavy  and  light 
rainfall  of  the  state;  hence  it  represents  very  largely  the  whole 
state.  Considering  the  record  of  the  United  States  Weather  Ob- 
server, it  is  found  by  Mr.  Page  that  during  a  twenty-five  year  period 
ending  in  1895,  the  average  date  of  first  0.05  of  an  inch  of  rainfall 
occurs  by  September  17.  Considering  June  30  as  the  official  end  of 
one  season  and  July  1  the  commencement  of  the  next  season,  the 
earliest  date  of  0.05  of  an  inch  of  rain  is  July  8,  1885,  and  the  latest 
October  27,  1875— that  is,  from  July  1  to  October  27,  1875,  only 
0.05  of  an  inch  of  rain  fell.  As  0.05  of  an  inch  of  rain  is  such  a 
small  amount,  it  has  been  deemed  best  to  consider  that  when  one- 
quarter  (0.25)  of  an  inch  of  rain  has  fallen  that  date  be  considered 
the  commencement  of  the  rainy  season.  Using  this,  then,  as  a  basis, 
we  find  that  the  rainy  season  begins  on  October  8.  The  earliest 
date  of  a  quarter  of  an  inch  is  September  8,  1884,  and  the  latest 
not  until  November  23,  1880. 

As  one-quarter  of  an  inch  of  rainfall  at  San  Francisco  is  hardly 
sufficient  to  allow  of  rainfall  over  the  southern  portion  of  the  state, 
a  basis  of  one  inch  at  San  Francisco  was  considered  for  the  south- 
ern portion  as  the  commencement  of  the  rains  there,  and  this  is 
found  to  be  November  1.  The  earliest  date  of  one  inch  of  rain  is 
September  15,  1888,  and  the  latest  December  3,  1890. 

One  inch  of  rainfall  at  San  Francisco  is  not  sufficient  for  the 
interior  of  the  state  to  allow  of  good  plowing  and  seeding;  hence 
a  total  of  two  inches  at  San  Francisco  was  considered,  and  it  is 
found  that  two  inches  of  rain  falls  at  San  Francisco  up  to  Novem- 
ber 1 ;  hence  that  date  can  be  said  to  be  the  date  of  commencement 
of  good  plowing. 

Five  inches  is  considered  to  indicate  that  the  rainy  season  has 
entered  upon  full  effect,  and  it  is  found  that  five  inches  does  not  fall 
before  December  15,  and  that  the  earliest  date  that  five  inches  has 
fallen  is  October  21,  1889,  and  the  latest  February  5,  1891.  In  this 
latter  season  February  was  very  wet,  and  the  total  for  the  season 
was  seventeen  fifty-eight  hundredths  inches. 

To  summarize,  we  have  first  rains  September  17;  rainy  season 
begins  October  8,  and  in  southern  portion  of  state  November  1 ; 


30  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

ground  moistened  for  plowing  November  13,  and  rainy  season  in 
full  effect  December  15.  Of  course,  there  will  be  occasionally  a 
year  in  which  a  good  fall  of  rain  may  come  earlier  and,  occasionally 
also,  storms  from  the  southward  deeply  moisten  southern  California 
before  the  normal  storms  of  northerly  origin  reach  the  upper  parts 
of  the  state.  Therefore  planters  everywhere  should  always  be  ready 
to  take  advantage  of  the  first  deep  moistening  of  the  soil  to  start 
plants  which  thrive  in  our  autumn  temperatures. 

The  Occurrence  of  Frosts  in  California. — The  occurrence  of 
frost  in  California  is,  from  one  point  of  view,  a  purely  local  ques- 
tion. As  has  already  been  stated,  the  frosty  and  the  f restless  places 
are  often  in  sight  of  each  other  on  the  same  landscape  from  the 
same  point  of  view.  It  can  be  even  more  closely  drawn  than  that. 
It  is  sometimes  quite  as  plainly  to  be  seen  as  the  high-water  line  of 
a  river  flood  on  a  sloping  meadow.  This  occurs,  of  course,  in  what 
are  termed  the  thermal  belts  and  is  determined  by  elevation,  air  cur- 
rents, outflow  levels  and  several  other  incidents  of  local  topography. 
There  are  often  wide  variations  in  these  lines  from  year  to  year  and 
yet  there  is  steadfastness  enough  about  the  phenomena  to  enable 
residents  to  agree  among  themselves  as  to  what  localities  are  "in  the 
frost"  and  what  are  out  of  it.  Upon  this  decision  depends  the  busi- 
ness risk  in  planting  out  beans,  peppers,  tomatoes,  etc.,  for  winter 
growth,  and  it  is  upon  such  fields  that  the  frost,  not  always  content 
with  the  local  definition  of  its  limits,  draws  the  dead  line  which  the 
morning  sun  brings  into  such  fateful  prominence.  Of  course,  the 
grower  is  not  necessarily  content  to  accept  such  natural  boundaries 
of  the  thermal  belt.  He  can  materially  change  it  all  by  frost-fight- 
ing, but  the  discussion  of  that  matter  belongs  to  another  chapter. 

It  is  important  to  know  as  nearly  as  possible  the  beginning  and 
end  of  the  frost  free  period  in  each  locality,  and  data  to  assist  in 
determining  this  fact  are  given  in  the  chapter  on  the  Planting 
Season. 

COMMMERCIAL  VALUE  OF  THE  CALIFORNIA  CLIMATE. 

It  is  a  striking  fact  that  winter  storage  of  fresh  vegetables  is 
not  necessary  in  California.  The  mild  California  winter  does  not 
freeze  hardy  vegetables,  consequently  they  are  allowed  to  grow  until 
the  shipping  season  arrives,  as  in  the  case  of  celery,  cabbage,  par- 
snips, salsify,  etc.,  or  are  gathered,  sacked  and  placed  under  some 
cheap  shelter  from  the  rains,  as  in  the  case  of  potatoes,  beets,  car- 
rots, etc.  No  storage  pits  or  cellars  are  thought  of.  In  fact,  the 
most  direct  and  cheapest  method  of  loading  cars  is  employed  in 
many  instances,  for  railway  spurs  are  carried  right  into  the  center 
of  the  celery,  cauliflower  and  cabbage  fields,  the  crates  filled  and  the 
cars  loaded  from  the  ground  on  which  the  crops  were  grown.  This 
not  only  reduces  the  cost  of  handling  and  eliminates  the  cost  of 
storage,  it  enables  the  grower  to  supply  the  winter  and  spring  mar- 
kets on  the  Atlantic  side,  in  the  Middle  West  and  the  great  interior 


CALIFORNIA  OUTLOOK  IN  TRUCK  FARMING  31 

plateau,  as  well  as  the  North  Pacific  coast  territory  of  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  with  vegetables  fresh  from  the  soil  during  many 
months  when  they  have  no  fresh  products  of  their  own. 

No  part  of  the  United  States,  except  an  adjacent  district  of 
Arizona  and  the  south  end  of  Florida,  enjoys  a  winter  temperature 
which  makes  such  a  traffic  possible,  and  even  those  small  outside 
areas  which  have  similar  temperature  do  not  have  other  conditions 
of  growth  like  those  of  California.  It  is  evident  that  in  the  future 
development  of  the  western  half  of  the  continent  of  North  America 
and  in  the  unfolding  of  North  Pacific  countries  generally,  California 
is  to  be  the  source  of  fresh  vegetables  during  the  many  months  of 
winter  which  prevail  in  those  northern  latitudes.  For  this  traffic 
California  enjoys  not  only  suitable  growing  conditions,  but  has  also 
the  advantage  of  nearness  and  of  transportation  by  water.  No  mat- 
ter how  great,  then,  the  eastern  movement  of  winter-grown  vege- 
tables may  become,  the  northern  and  northwestern  movement,  of 
which  California  will  have  a  monopoly,  will  induce  additional  pro- 
duction to  an  extent  which  cannot  now  be  foreseen,  although  the 
present  traffic  in  those  directions  is  considerable  and  profitable. 


CHAPTER    IV. 
VEGETABLE  SOILS  OF  CALIFORNIA. 

Soils  which  favor  the  most  satisfactory  growth  of  vegetables 
are  those  which  are  most  easily  maintained  in  a  condition  of  tilth 
to  promote  seed  germination  and  rapid  establishment  of  the  seedling 
in  sure-growing  contact  with  the  soil-substance;  soils  which  facili- 
tate deep-root  penetration  by  the  advancing  plant  so  that  moisture 
and  plant  food  shall  be  rapidly  reached,  and  which  have  sufficient 
retentive  power  and  capillarity  to  maintain  adequate  moisture  within 
reach  of  the  roots  and  such  amount  of  natural  fertility  that  the  plant 
may  attain  the  greatest  growth  in  the  least  time.  Soils  with  these 
characters  have  also  the  most  valuable  incidental  qualities  of  warmth, 
to  foster  vegetable  processes;  porosity  to  facilitate  the  escape  of 
surplus  water  and  the  entrance  of  the  air  with  its  constituents  which 
promote  root  action  and  modification  of  the  soil  substance  and  ab- 
sorptive power  to  readily  receive  and  deeply  distribute  rainfall  or 
irrigation.  These  are  high  requirements,  for  it  is  an  ideal  soil  which 
possesses  them  all. 

Ideal  Soils  Not  Essential. — Fortunately  gardening  art  is  amply 
able  to  supply  natural  deficiencies  in  nearly  all  respects  and,  if  he 
is  working  for  high-priced  products  on  a  comparatively  small  area, 
the  vegetable  grower  can  often  profitably  make  considerable  ex- 
penditure for  soil  improvement.  Market  gardeners  need  no  exhor- 
tation in  this  line,  but  the  home  gardener  should  be  urged  not  to 
despair  because  of  any  refractory  character  in  the  soil  he  is  obliged 
to  utilize.  If  he  study  the  subject  by  the  aid  of  most  excellent 
treatises  recently  written  on  the  soil  and  its  amelioration  he  can  pro- 
ceed rationally  and  accomplish  marvels  with  Will,  Work  and  Water 
upon  almost  any  soil,  from  a  brick  yard  to  a  desert.  City  people 
have  grown  their  table  supplies  on  housetops ;  no  ruralist  can  find  a 
less  productive  subsoil. 

Light  Rather  Than  Heavy  Soils. — The  characters  already  cited 
point  clearly  to  what  is  commonly  designated  as  a  rather  light  soil 
as  best  for  vegetable  growing.  The  extreme  variations  in  soils  are 
popularly  known  as  heavy  adobe  and  light  sandy  soils.  Neither  are 
usually  counted  suitable  for  garden  purposes  without  treatment  to 
overcome  their  defects  and  yet  as  the  terms  are  used  in  some  Cali- 
fornia regions,  there  are  very  good  gardens  on  both  of  them.  The 
explanation  is  that  in  such  localities  one  has  less  sand  and  one  less 
clay  than  the  other.  Both  are  really  loams  or  mixtures  of  sand  and 
clay;  one  a  clayey  loam,  the  other  a  loamy  sand.  Aside  from  this 
misapprehension  of  terms  we  have,  of  course,  clays  (locally  called 
"adobe")  which  are  true  enough  to  the  type  to  bring  despair  to  the 
[32] 


V 

I 


CALIFORNIA  SOILS  ADMIRABLE  33 

most  patient  gardener  and  we  have  washes  of  pure  coarse  sand  on 
which  a  shallow-rooting  plant  could  hardly  live  with  a  stream  of 
water  pouring  over  beside  it.  But  our  shifting  sands  of  the  interior 
plains  and  our  so-called  deserts  are  sandy  loams  which  yield  pro- 
fusely when  properly  irrigated.  For  the  improvement  of  defective 
soils  for  the  farm-garden,  suggestions  will  be  given  later. 

Soils  Naturally  Excellent. — For  field  growth  of  vegetables  in 
California  the  grower  is  usually  content  to  proceed  upon  the  natural 
texture  and  fertility  of  his  soil,  although  during  recent  years  the  use 
of  fertilizers  has  notably  increased.  The  crop  is  chosen  to  suit  the 
local  soil  and  climate,  consequently  we  have  districts  becoming 
famous  for  special  vegetable  products  as  demand  for  them  in  con- 
siderable quantities  is  demonstrated.  In  such  districts  the  soils  are 
rather  light  and  yet  ample  in  richness  to  endure  for  some  time  the 
drain  of  continuous  cropping  in  the  same  line.  We  have  areas  of 
such  soils  considerably  in  excess  of  their  present  profitable  use. 
They  constitute  one  of  our  undeveloped  resources  and  are  a  surety 
of  future  advancement. 

A  very  gratifying  amount  of  accurate  knowledge  of  California 
soils  is  to  be  credited  to  the  late  Dr.  E.  W.  Hilgard,  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  California,  who  gave  a  lifetime  to  advanced  investigations 
in  soil  physics  and  chemistry.  It  is  from  his  publications1  that  we 
shall  condense  some  account  of  the  specific  character  of  those  soils 
which  are  mostly  nearly  related  to  local  production  of  vegetables, 
leaving  out  of  account  the  heavy  adobe,  which  is  little  used  for 
these  crops  except  by  gardeners  who  radically  change  its  physical 
character. 

Prevailing  Character  of  California  Soils. — In  his  interesting 
contrast  of  the  soils  of  arid  and  -humid  regions,  Dr.  Hilgard  makes 
some  generalizations,  which  we  collate  to  serve  our  present  purpose. 

The  character  of  the  soils  of  the  arid  regions  is  predominantly 
sandy  or  silty,  with  but  a  small  portion  of  clay  unless  derived 
directly  or  indirectly  from  pre-existing  formations  of  clay  or  clay 
shales. 

The  idea  of  inherent  fertility  has  been  associated  so  generally 
with  sorts  of  a  more  or  less  clayey  character,  that  the  newcomer 
will  frequently  be  suspicious  of  the  productiveness  and  desirability 
of  the  sandy  or  silty  soils  of  the  arid  region  that  experience  has 
shown  to  be  of  the  highest  type  in  both  respects. 

Another  point  of  great  importance  is  that  the  difference  be- 
tween soil  and  subsoil,  which  is  so  striking  and  important  in  regions 
of  abundant  rainfall,  is  largely  obliterated  in  arid  climates.  Very 
commonly  hardly  a  perceptible  change  of  tint  or  texture  is  found 
for  depths  of  several  feet  and  material  from  such  depths,  when 
thrown  on  the  surface,  is  nearly  or  quite  as  fertile  as  the  original 
surface  soil.  In  the  case  of  a  cellar  dug  near  Nevada  City,  the  red 


1  "Soils:  Their  Formation,  Properties,  Composition  and  Relations  to  Climate  and  Plant 
Growth;"  also  "Agriculture  for  Schools  of  the  Pacific  Slope,"  by  Hilgard  and  Osterhoui 
Published  by  the  Macmillan  Co.,  of  New  York. 


34  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

soil  mass  excavated  from  a  depth  of  seven  to  ten  feet  was  spread 
over  part  of  a  vegetable  garden  near  by  and  tomatoes,  beans  and 
watermelons  were  planted  on  it.  The  gowth  was  even  better  than 
on  the  parts  of  the  old  surface  not  covered,  which  had  apparently 
become  somewhat  exhausted  by  years  of  use. 

Examination  has  shown  that  the  percentage  of  humus  or  vege- 
table mold  is  less  in  the  soils  of  the  arid  region,  but  their  humus 
contains  more  nitrogen.  Thus,  probably,  on  the  average  not  only 
is  the  aggregate  supply  of  nitrogen  in  the  soils  of  the  arid  region 
approximately  equal  to  that  of  humid  soils,  but  its  absorption  by 
plants  is  exceptionally  favored  by  climatic  conditions. 

As  to  the  minerals  which  constitute  fertility,  the  soils  of  the 
arid  region  contain  nearly  fifteen  times  as  much  lime,  five  times  as 
much  magnesia,  three  times  as  much  potash,  and  about  the  same 
amount  of  phosphoric  acid  as  the  soils  of  the  humid  regions. 

Significance  of  These  Facts. — These  leading  characteristics  of 
California's  horticultural  soils  are  of  the  highest  significance  to  the 
vegetable  grower  because  they  show  that  California  is  rich  in  soils 
of  ideal  excellence  for  his  purposes.  They  are  light  soils  and  there- 
fore easy  of  cultivation  and  not  disposed  to  bake  on  drying;  they 
are  deep,  consequently  well  drained  and  yet  absorptive  and  retentive 
enough ;  they  are  exceptionally  rich,  consequently  extremely  produc- 
tive and  durable  and  they  can  often  be  given  a  new  fertile  surface 
by  deep  turning  from  the  fertility  of  the  greater  depths.  This  was 
the  natural  endowment  which  enabled  the  pioneer  vegetable  growers 
to  disturb  the  horticultural  peace  of  the  world  in  1849-50.  The 
achievements  of  later  years  indicate  that  with  rational  treatment  the 
superiority  of  California  soils  will  endure  indefinitely  into  the 
future. 

The  distribution  of  these  desirable  soils  gives  all  regions  a  share 
in  them.  Either  as  residual  soils  resulting  from  the  decomposition 
of  adjacent  rocks,  or  as  transported  loams  which  have  been  carried 
greater  or  less  distances  by  wind,  glacial  action  or  other  moving 
force,  or  as  alluvial  or  sediment  soils,  deposited  by  action  of  flow- 
ing streams,  every  California  county  has  its  vegetable  soils  in  ample 
measure.  Such  is  the  diversity  of  soils  within  narrow  areas  in 
California  that  it  may  not  take  a  very  large  farm  to  enclose  several 
diverse  types,  and  it  is  the  first  duty  of  the  settler  to  learn  their  spe- 
cial characters  and  adaptations  and  plan  his  production  accordingly. 

Alluvial  or  Sediment  Soils. — Though  there  is  marked  difference 
in  the  origin  of  our  soils  which  are  suitable  for  vegetable  growing, 
when  proper  moisture  conditions  are  arranged,  it  is  naturally  the 
alluvial  or  sediment  soils  which  have  hitherto  been  chiefly  used. 
They  have  been  deposited  by  recent  or  ancient  water  courses  and 
have  formerly  served  as  river  banks  or  river  and  lake  bottoms. 
They  have  beneath  them,  generally  quite  far  below,  the  prevailing 
soil  of  the  adjacent  country.  They  consist  of  fine  alluvium  with 
seldom  any  admixture  of  coarse  materials.  They  are  usually  very 


IMPROVING  HEAVY  SOILS  35 

deep  and  well  drained.  They  occur  sometimes  at  a  considerably 
higher  level  than  existing  streams  and  are  sometimes  designated  as 
"next  to  river  bottom,"  while  lower  levels  constitute  the  "river  bot- 
tom." In  some  small  valleys  they  have  spread  deeply  all  over  the 
original  soil,  having  been  washed  in  such  quantities  from  adjacent 
hills,  and  in  larger  valleys  have  spread  for  considerable  distances 
out  upon  the  plain.  These  are  primarily  the  fruit  lands,  but  they 
are  also  largely  used  for  such  vegetables  as  thrive  upon  lighter  and 
drier  soils.  Below  are  the  present  river  bottoms,  usually  dark,  rich 
and  moist  and  not  subject  to  baking  or  cracking,  which  are  par  ex- 
cellence, vegetable  lands. 

Peat  Lands. — Another  class  of  alluvial  soils  is  known  as  peat 
soils,  which  consist  of  mixtures  in  various  proportions  of  silt  and 
sediment  with  the  debris  of  centuries'  growth  of  swamp  plants 
which  the  streams  have  currently  overflowed  in  flood  times  or  over 
which  they  have  risen  daily  as  the  tide  wall  has  held  back  their 
waters.  This  organic  matter  from  the  aquatic  plants  is  in  various 
stages  of  decomposition,  but  in  the  best  of  lands  has  been  reduced 
to  fineness  by  cultivation  after  the  floods  and  tides  have  been  ex- 
cluded by  levees,  or  by  natural  barriers  interposed  by  stream  or 
wave  action,  or  by  recession  of  lake  waters  according  as  the  situa- 
tion is  on  the  coast  or  distant  interior.  This  light  but  very  deep  and 
rich  soil  especially  suits  some  plants  and  is  the  basis  of  some  of  our 
export  vegetable  business,  as  for  instance,  asparagus  and  celery 
growing.  Such  soils  are,  of  course,  used  locally  for  all  esculent 
plants  which  thrive  upon  them  and  which  the  market  favors.  Such 
lands  are  in  vast  area  in  many  parts  of  the  state,  from  near  the 
ocean  to  the  margins  of  interior  rivers  and  lakes  and  waters  of  in- 
teiror  plateaus  as  well.  In  the  heat  of  the  interior  valleys  they  dry 
out  very  rapidly  when  seepage  or  overflow  from  streams  and  sloughs 
is  cut  off  by  levees.  They  are  non- retentive,  owing  to  the  coarseness 
of  their  structure,  but  irrigation  is  easily  accomplished,  as  will  be 
noted  in  the  proper  connection. 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  SOIL  TEXTURE  FOR  GARDENING. 

Aside  from  such  treatment  of  the  soil  as  is  designed  to  increase 
its  fertility,  which  will  be  considered  in  the  chapter  on  fertilizing, 
it  seems  fitting  in  this  connection  to  suggest  measures  by  which  the 
texture  of  the  soil  may  be  improved  when  necessary.  Phis  is  im- 
portant in  the  farm  garden  because  there  may  not  be  anything  ap- 
proaching an  ideal  garden  soil  inside  the  line  fences.  But  this  fact 
should  not  discourage  the  home  gardener,  as  has  already  been 
intimated. 

If  one  observes  the  operation  of  market  gardeners  or  reads  any 
treatise  on  gardening  written  for  the  older  countries,  he  is  apt  to 
conclude  that  the  Creator  has  done  little  for  the  modern  garden 
except  to  furnish  a  place  to  put  it,  because  the  chief  art  of  gardening 
seems  to  consist  in  using  as  little  of  natural  soil  as  possible.  This 


36  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

state  of  affairs  has  not  arisen  in  California  yet,  for  the  reasons 
shown  in  the  descriptions  of  our  garden  soils,  and  yet  we  do  not 
mean  to  suggest  that  the  farm  gardener  should  in  all  cases  expect 
to  reach  satisfactory  results  without  due  effort  for  soil  improvement 
on  the  small  area  which  he  expects  to  yield  so  much. 

Improvement  of  Adobe  Soils. — Our  adobes,  especially  those  of 
the  darker  hues,  are  rich  and  durable.  In  common  with  heavy  clay 
soils  everywhere  they  are  retentive  of  moisture.  In  our  arid  sum- 
mers, however,  they  lose  their  moisture  speedily  by  evaporation,  if 
untilled,  and  dry  out  to  a  greater  depth  than  lighter  soils.  They  are 
refractory  under  tillage  and  unless  caught  at  just  the  right  moment 
they  are  either  wax  or  rock  under  the  plow,  and  the  cultivator  will 
either  stick  fast  or  ride  over  the  surface.  And  yet  if  one  has 
nothing  but  adobe  he  is  not  as  badly  off  as  he  might  be,  because 
adobe  is  easily  susceptible  of  improvement.  The  points  to  attain 
are  several,  but  they  are  inter-related  and  effort  for  one  measurably 
helps  toward  all. 

The  free  used  of  burned  lime,  either  as  it  comes  from  the  kiln 
for  builder's  use  or  when  air-slaked  or  water-slaked  (hydrated),  and 
applied  about  the  time  of  the  first  rains  is  the  first  and  simplest 
effort  toward  breaking  up  the  tenacity  of  the  soil.  This  should  be 
done  no  matter  what  greater  efforts  are  to  be  undertaken  later. 

Deep  and  thorough  tillage,  taking  the  soil  at  just  that  condition 
of  moisture  when  it  works  well  with  plow  and  harrow,  will  be  found 
to  progressively  improve  its  tillability  by  mere  action  of  air  and  im- 
plements. If  this  is  all  that  can  be  undertaken  at  first,  do  this  thor- 
oughly and  put  in  the  cultivator  after  each  heavy  rain  as  soon  as 
the  proper  condition  of  soil  arrives,  so  as  to  prevent  baking  of  the 
surface.  For  winter  growth  of  vegetables  in  regions  of  ample  rain- 
fall, use  the  ridge  system,  which  will  be  described  in  a  subsequent 
chapter. 

But  liming  and  persistent  tillage  are  only  temporizing  with 
adobe  and  do  not  accomplish  permanent  reform.  The  first  rational 
step  is  to  resort  to  adequate  drainage.  Tile  drains  two  and  a  half 
or  three  feet  deep  and  twenty  feet  apart  will  do  for  garden  plants. 
This  leaves  a  clear  surface  for  working  over,  but,  if  the  expense 
of  tiling  is  not  desired,  open  ditches  will  answer,  but  they  restrict 
cultivation  to  one  direction,  waste  land,  and  are  expensive  in  hand 
work  in  killing  weeds  in  the  ditches.  Open  ditches,  are,  however, 
better  than  no  ditches  at  all.  The  effect  of  drainage  is  to  promote 
friability,  to  render  the  soil  tillable  earlier  and  oftener,  by  the  quick 
removal  of  surplus  water,  and  to  promote  seed  germination  and 
plant  growth. 

.The  aeration  of  adobe  by  drainage  and  tillage  accomplishes  a 
considerable  improvement,  but  still  more  radical  reform  measures 
are  desirable.  The  soil  particles  are  naturally  too  small.  They  must 
be  separated  by  interposition  of  coarser  grains.  Plow  into  the  soil 
as  much  coarse  material  as  possible.  Farmyard  manure,  straw, 


IMPROVING  SANDY  SOILS  37 

sand,  old  plaster,  coal  ashes,  sawdust,  almost  anything  coarse  or 
gritty  which  will  break  up  the  close  adherence  of  the  fine  clay  parti- 
cles, release  the  surplus  water  and  let  in  the  air,  will  produce  a 
marked  effect  in  reducing  the  hateful  baking  and  cracking,  root- 
tearing  and  moisture-losing  behavior  of  the  adobe.  Scrape  the  cor- 
rals, rake  up  the  leaves  and  fine  litter  of  all  kinds,  make  the  adobe 
garden  patch  the  graveyard  for  all  the  rubbish  which  is  suceptible 
of  decay.  The  farm  will  be  neater  and  the  garden  will  pay  the  ex- 
pense in  its  easier  working  and  better  growth.  Do  this  every  year 
before  the  rains  come  and  you  will  rejoice  that  you  had  an  adobe 
foundation  for  the  farm  garden. 

The  Improvement  of  Light,  Sandy  Soils. — This  effort  is  in 
some  cases  more  difficult  than  conquering  adobe.  It  all  depends 
upon  the  coarseness  of  the  sand  and  the  subsoil  upon  which  it  rests. 
If  soil  and  subsoil  are  coarse  sand  or  gravel  to  a  considerable  depth, 
some  fruit  trees  may  thrive,  but  shallow  rooting  plants  will  fail  un- 
less they  can  finish  their  growth  during  the  rainy  season.  Summer 
growth  is  impossible  because  water  will  flow  through  their  sieve-like 
structure  and  carry  away  plant  food  with  it.  With  moisture  leach- 
ing away  below  and  flying  away  above,  and  with  intense  sun  heat 
burning  the  foliage  by  direct  contact  and  reflection,  such  wash  soils 
are  indescribably  worse  than  adobe.  But  this  condemation  should 
not  be  rashly  applied.  The  reference  is  to  soils  very  coarse  in  char- 
acter which  have  the  appearance  of  washed  sand  and  gravel.  Other- 
wise it  may  be  a  soil  carried  from  the  surface  of  the  hillsides  by 
the  eroding  streams,  and,  if  composed  of  reasonably  fine  materials, 
in  addition  to  sand  and  gravel,  should  have  plenty  of  plant  food  for 
a  time  at  least.  The  chief  difficulty  will  lie  in  maintaining  moisture 
for  shallow  rooting  plants.  Obviously  such  soils  are  best  suited  for 
winter  growth,  for  they  are  "warm  and  early"  when  situated  out 
of  frosty  places. 

Sandy  soils  which  are  imposed  upon  clay  or  hardpan,  provid- 
ing the  underlying  stratum  is  not  alkaline,  furnish  very  promising 
garden  material,  even  though  the  layer  be  too  shallow  for  the 
growth  of  trees.  Many  fruit  growers  are  struggling  to  maintain 
trees  on  such  spots  in  their  orchards  when  they  should  forsake  the 
effort  and  by  adequate  use  of  water  and  manure  turn  such  spots  into 
family  gardens.  The  holding  of  water  near  the  surface,  which  is 
fatal  to  tree  roots,  is  the  opportunity  for  the  growth  of  most  vege- 
tables. Depth  of  soil  which  is  so  strongly  insisted  upon  in  treatises 
on  gardening,  constitutes  a  storehouse  of  moisture  and  plant  food, 
but  it  has  been  abundantly  demonstrated  that  depth  is  not  essential 
provided  the  plant  is  otherwise  fed  and  watered.  California  gar- 
dens proceeding  upon  rainfall  alone,  need  a  deep,  retentive  soil ;  the 
irrigated  garden  may  thrive  upon  a  soil  too  coarse  to  be  retentive 
providing  it  has  a  tight  bottom  to  hold  moisture  within  reach  of 
shallow  rooting  plants.  Therefore  reclaim  such  sand  by  providing 
a  home  water  supply,  if  not  in  an  irrigated  region,  and  use  plenty 


38  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

of  well-composted  and  decayed  manure,  which  will  not  only  feed 
the  plants  but  will  also  reform  its  texture  and  transform  the  coarse 
sand  into  a  rich  garden  soil,  kind  in  cultivation  and  prodigious  in  its 
yield  of  succulent  vegetables,  for  sand  is  best  of  all  materials  for 
free  and  rapid  root  development. 

The  treatment  of  such  soil  is  directly  opposite  that  prescribed 
for  adobe.  All  coarse  materials  must  go  through  composting, 
which  will  be  described  in  another  chapter.  The  garden  should  be 
cleared  of  all  its  own  coarse  refuse  and  only  fine  compost  or  com- 
mercial fertilizers  used  upon  it.  Both  of  these  act  benignly  upon 
its  texture. 


CHAPTER    V. 
GARDEN  IRRIGATION. 

It  has  already  been  intimated  that  the  irrigated  garden  should 
be  the  aim  of  all  who  desire  to  attain  the  fullest  satisfaction  in 
vegetable  growing. 

What  Can  Be  Done  Without  Irrigation? — But  while  it  is  true 
that  the  California  gardener  must  have  irrigation  to  do  his  best  and 
to  give  him  a  solid  year  of  rotations  and  successions  in  his  garden, 
due  emphasis  must  be  laid  upon  the  fact  that  in  suitable  locations 
the  unirrigated  garden  in  California  is  a  greater  treasure  than  at 
the  East.  This  fact  is  due  to  the  character  of  our  winter  climate, 
which,  as  has  already  been  shown  in  a  previous  chapter,  is  actually 
a  growing  season  for  all  but  the  vegetables  which  will  endure  no 
frost.  By  using  to  their  fullest  capacity  our  six  rainy  months,  by 
early  cultivation  and  planting,  which  will  be  fully  explained  later, 
midwinter  and  spring  vegetables  can  be  produced  in  great  variety; 
and  by  proper  cultivation  for  the  retention  of  moisture,  tender  vege- 
tables planted  as  early  in  the  spring  as  frost-freedom  can  be  assured, 
will  find  in  a  good  soil  which  has  received  adequate  rainfall,  moist- 
ure enough  stored  to  carry  them  to  perfection  in  midsummer  and 
autumn,  although  not  a  drop  of  rain  may  fall  from  the  sowing  of 
the  seed  to  the  gathering  of  the  crop.  For  this  reason  owners  of 
fairly  deep  and  retentive  soil  in  regions  of  ample  rainfall  can  attain 
splendid  results  without  irrigation,  if  they  will  only  be  alert  for 
prompt  work  and  persistent  in  summer  cultivation. 

What  can  be  done  in  California  with  the  unirrigated  garden 
depends  upon  conditions  existing  in  each  locality.  Character  and 
depth  of  soil,  amount  of  rainfall,  degree  of  heat  and  percentage  of 
relative  humidity  in  the  air,  the  lay  of  the  land — all  these  are  deter- 
mining factors,  in  addition  to  the  dates  of  frost  occurrence  which 
fix  the  opening  and  closing  of  the  season  for  tender  plants  in  the 
open  ground.  The  significance  of  variations  in  these  factors,  and 
the  regions  where  they  usually  occur  in  widest  extremes,  have  been 
suggested  in  previous  chapters  and  the  ways  to  shape  garden  prac- 
tice to  these  local  variations  will  naturally  be  discussed  as  we  come 
to  describe  successful  methods  with  the  different  vegetables.  There- 
fore let  no  man  conclude  that  he  cannot  grow  vegetables  until  he 
completes  his  arrangement  for  irrigation  unless  he  is  sure  that  his 
winter  rainfall  is  too  uncertain  to  grow  even  a  crop  of  wheat,  for 
a  rainfall  that  will  carry  the  wheat  plant  to  maturity  will  also  pro- 
duce quite  a  variety  of  garden  vegetables  with  proper  practice  in 
early  sowing  and  frequent  cultivation. 

[39] 


40  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

And  from  this  low-water  mark  the  unirrigated  garden  pro- 
ceeds upward  with  richer  endowment  of  favoring  local  conditions, 
insuring  length  of  growing  season  and  variety  of  vegetables  until 
it  really  becomes  a  question  whether  irrigation  is  needed  at  all.  It 
certainly  is  not  for  ample  yield  of  many,  possibly  all,  of  the  staples 
of  the  garden,  but  to  insure  a  succession  of  salads  and  relishes,  pot- 
herbs and  legumes — in  short,  to  enjoy  the  fullness  of  the  California 
season,  the  irrigated  garden,  we  say  again,  and  for  the  last  time, 
we  hope,  is  the  thing  to  be  diligently  striven  for. 

SOURCES  OF  IRRIGATION  WATER. 

Whence  the  garden  shall  receive  its  water  supply  is  a  question 
for  each  to  determine  according  to  his  environment.  Water  is  now 
flowing  over  California  gardens  from  various  sources  as  the  result 
of  all  sorts  of  individual,  co-operative  and  corporate  efforts  and  in- 
vestments. It  would  require  volumes  to  describe  them.  Large  irri- 
gation enterprises  are  the  joint  work  of  engineers  and  capitalists. 
That  gardener  is  fortunate  who  has  only  to  buy  his  water  from  a 
fair-dealing  ditch  company  or  draw  his  share  from  a  co-operative 
water  company  in  which  he  has  an  interest.  Such  a  source  is  best 
of  all  because  causing  least  labor  and  expense  in  average  cases. 
Wherever  the  landowner  can  promote  honestly  and  economically 
managed  irrigation  enterprises  for  community  use  he  should  do  it 
without  an  exhortation.  But  to  whatever  extent  this  work  is  car- 
ried there  will  always  remain  opportunities,  probably,  where  farm 
gardens  can  command  their  own  irrigation  supplies  at  a  cost  which 
will  warrant  the  effort.  It  is  in  this  line  that  a  few  suggestions  will 
be  offered. 

Surface  Sources. — In  the  unirrigated  regions  of  the  state  there 
are  countless  opportunities  for  home  supplies  of  irrigation  water  by 
the  simple  process  of  allowing  it  to  run  down  hill  your  way  instead 
of  that  way  which  is  natural  to  it.  Water  which  would  be  of  great 
value  in  the  house  and  barn  and  farm-garden  is  allowed  to  flow  by 
in  its  own  deep  channel  when  a  very  little  use  of  the  level  would 
show  that  a  part  of  it  could  be  taken  out  into  a  ditch  or  pipe,  higher 
up  its  course  through  the  farm,  and  brought  along  with  less  fall 
than  it  naturally  takes,  until  it  reaches  the  buildings  high  up  the 
slope  above  the  bank  instead  of  in  the  deep  bed  it  has  cut  in  the 
soil  below.  This  is  very  simple  and  inexpensive,  and  yet  we  have 
many  hillside  places  in  the  central  and  northern  parts  of  the  state 
where  the  water  is  carried  up  by  hand  to  the  house,  and  the  animals 
are  driven  down  to  the  water,  and  the  garden  is  neglected  because 
it  is  too  hard  work  to  haul  water  up  to  it.  Of  course,  there  are  many 
cases  where  such  an  obvious  resource  of  the  farm  has  been  utilized, 
but  there  are  many  where  it  is  neglected. 

Many  springs  on  the  hillsides  are  allowed  to  be  trampled  into 
mudholes  by  the  stock,  which  need  but  cleaning  out  and  opening 
up  to  yield  a  water-flow  beyond  any  amount  which  the  old  outcrop- 


Univ.  of  Cal.  Experiment  Station 


Laying  off  in  ridges  and  ridges  flattened  for  planting. — Pages  73  and  202. 


SAVING  WATER  FOR  THE  GARDEN  41 

ping  would  indicate.  A  short  pipe  line  would  deliver  water  in  the 
tops  of  the  buildings  if  desired  and  would  generously  irrigate  all 
the  land  needed  for  the  family  garden.  And  yet  the  hillsides  are 
full  of  unused  springs.  One  has,  however,  to  be  very  careful  about 
handling  a  spring.  Good  springs  have  been  lost  by  excavating  or 
blasting  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  the  flow.  Sometimes  it  has 
caused  the  spring  to  disappear  entirely.  At  the  same  time  the  flow 
has  been  increased  on  some  springs  by  careful  opening,  cleaning 
out  interfering  dirt  and  rubbish  so  as  to  open  the  exit  of  the  water 
without  opening  other  exits  for  its  escape.  When  this  is  done, 
cementing  around  to  prevent  loss  of  water  by  seepage  is  often 
effective  in  increasing  the  flow  or  at  least  conserving  it  so  that  a 
better  run  of  water  is  obtained. 

Between  the  hills  above  the  building  sites  there  are  many  inter- 
vales which  are  impassable  in  the  rainy  season  and  covered  with  a 
growth  of  sedges  and  swamp  grass  all  summer.  They  are  natural 
reservoirs  of  greater  or  less  capacity,  holding  the  surface  water 
and  underflow  from  the  hillsides.  In  the  dry  season  plowing  and 
scraping  will  easily  fashion  a  small  reservoir  at  the  lowest  point 
of  the  intervale  and  a  pipe  line  will  bring  down  wrater  at  least  for 


Boggy  Land  Caused  by  Seepage. 

irrigation,  if  it  is  not  suited  for  other  uses.  Or  if  there  be  below 
a  better  site  for  a  reservoir,  underdrainage  of  the  swamp  will  turn 
it  to  the  growth  of  good  grasses  while  the  outflow  from  the  drains 
can  be  converted  into  garden  crops  below. 

Again  even  when  the  surface  after  the  rainy  season  shows  no 
sign  of  moisture,  it  is  often  possible  to  keep  a  good  supply  in  sight 
by  closing  some  small  vale  and  dry-creek  bed  with  a  darn  to  hold 
for  summer  use  in  the  garden  some  part  of  the  volumes  of  water 
which  rush  down  from  the  water-shed  during  the  winter  rains. 

All  these  are  elementary  problems  in  water  developing  and 
water  saving.  It  would  reflect  upon  the  speaker's  intelligence  to 
mention  them  in  some  parts  of  the  state,  and  yet  in  the  unirrigated 
regions  there  lie  these  neglected  opportunities — monuments  of  in- 
attention or  unthrift. 


42 


CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 


Subterreanean  Water  Sources. — There  are  few  places  where 
water  for  a  home  garden  cannot  be  had  by  well-digging  and  there 
are  many  large  districts  where  flowing  wells  are  secured  by  shallow 
boring.  At  the  bases  of  hills  horizontal  wells  or  tunnels  are  fre- 
quently satisfactory.  The  capacity  of  these  wells  and  tunnels  is 
sometimes  very  great.  They  often  warrant  long-ditch  lines  or  figure 
in  the  supply  of  towns  and  cities.  Unquestionably  the  present  de- 
velopment of  water  by  these  means  is  only  a  fraction  of  what  is 
possible  and  the  owner  of  untried  land  should  undertake  a  reason- 
able amount  of  prospecting.  It  is,  of  course,  easy  to  waste  money 
in  this  way,  but  if  one  proceeds  after  as  full  study  as  he  can  make 
of  the  surface,  the  outcroppings  of  rock,  the  experience  of  others  in 
the  same  region,  he  is  pretty  sure  to  realize  upon  reasonable  antici- 
pations. 

Excavations  in  dry  creek  beds  of  gravel  and  boulders  have 
often  brought  to  light  considerable  underflow  which  has  been  ar- 
rested and  the  water  stored  by  cement  dams  resting  on  the  bed  rock. 


Reclaimed  by  Reservoir  Building. 

Flowing  wells  and  wells  which  bring  the  water  near  to  the  sur- 
face constitute  the  main  source  of  subterranean  water  employed  in 
California.  They  have  reclaimed  large  districts  which  were  form- 
erly arid  wastes  and  they  are  largely  used  also  for  summer  crops 
in  regions  of  ample  winter  rains.  Well  borers  equipped  with  good 
appliances  are  to  be  found  in  all  parts  of  the  state. 

WATER-LIFTING  DEVICE. 

At  this  point  it  will  be  well  to  remark  that  any  gardener  is 
fortunate  who  has  water  brought  to  the  highest  point  of  his  planta- 
tion by  its  own  weight  without  a  struggle  on  his  part  against  the 
force  of  gravity,  and  yet  there  are  thousands  of  instances  of  satis- 
factory home  gardening  by  simple  water-lifting  devices. 


PUMPING  FOR  IRRIGATION  43 

Horizontal  Windmills. — Devices  based  upon  the  overshot- wheel 
principle  are  used  to  some  extent  on  this  coast,  but  the  summer 
winds  at  the  ground  surface  are  usually  too  light  to  operate  them 
well.  In  its  simplest  form  this  windmill  consists  of  four  boards, 
about  seven  feet  long,  fastened  to  long  arms  projecting  from  an 
axle,  which  has  bearings  on  two  strong  posts  or  a  framework.  The 
wind  only  strikes  the  upper  part  of  the  wheel,  the  lower  part  being 
inclosed  by  a  board  fence.  In  a  slight  breeze  the  mill  revolves  about 
twenty  revolutions  per  minute,  but  in  a  good,  stiff  gale  it  flies  so 
fast  that  a  sliding  board  must  be  raised  to  shut  off  the  wind.  The 
wheel  is  connected  with  the  plunger  of  the  pump  by  means  of  a 
crank  at  one  end  of  the  axle. 

Gasoline  and  Crude  Oil  Engines. — These  devices  have  been 
greatly  improved  during  the  last  few  years  and  are  now  being 
largely  employed  for  water  lifting  for  irrigation.  There  are  sev- 
eral manufacturers  in  California,  the  fuel  is  very  cheap  here  and 
this,  in  connection  with  ease  with  which  the  engines  are  managed, 
constitute  them  most  economical  and  satisfactory  agencies  for 
pumping.  The  manufacturers  give  full  information  and  can  usually 
cite  engines  in  operation  in  different  localities  where  their  perform- 
ances can  be  personally  ascertained. 

Electric  Pumping. — Recently  the  extension  of  power  lines  in 
nearly  all  directions  in  California  has  made  electric  energy  available 
for  garden  pumping  and  efficient  motors  at  low  cost  are  offered. 
Handlers  of  such  machinery  are  always  ready  to  demonstrate  the 
quality  and  cost  of  their  appliances  and  they  are  being  widely  used. 

Steam  Engines. — Pumping  plants  of  great  capacity  operating 
by  steam  power  are  also  in  use  for  irrigation.  Large  vegetable- 
growing  enterprises  render  considerable  investment  in  these  lines 
profitable.  Their  construction  and  operation  are,  however,  rather 
beyond  the  scope  of  this  work.  The  advice  of  a  mechanical  engi- 
neer should  be  secured  in  all  large  undertakings. 

The  Chinese  Pump. — A  water-lifting  device  which  is  very 
effective  for  a  short  lift,  as  from  a  ditch  or  stream  to  adjoining 
lands,  is  the  Chinese  pump,  which  has  long  been  in  use  in  Cali- 
fornia. It  is  a  modified  "Persian  wheel,"  and  is  so  simple  that  it 
can  be  home-made  with  old  threshing  machine  gearing  or  other 
mechanical  junk.  It  consists  of  an  endless  belt  working  like  the 
"elevator"  or  "straw  carrier"  of  a  threshing  machine.  For  instance, 
take  an  old  machine  belt  eight  inches  wide  and  twenty  feet  long  or 
sew  together  strong  canvas  to  make  one.  Make  a  box  or  trough 
about  nine  feet  long,  eight  inches  wide  and  six  inches  deep  inside 
measurement,  with  no  ends  nor  cover.  Rig  at  each  end  of  this  box 
a  wheel  or  pulley  over  which  the  endless  belt  can  run.  Fasten  to 
the  belt,  a  few  inches  apart,  blocks  scant  eight  inches  long  and  four 
inches  wide,  so  that  the  belt  will  have  a  flat  surface  on  one  side 
and  the  other  crossed  with  the  blocks.  When  this  is  placed  in  the 
box  and  over  the  pulleys  at  each  end  fasten  the  box  securely  in  an 


44  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

inclined  position  with  the  lower  end  in  the  water,  turn  the  upper 
pulley  by  a  hand  crank  or  a  small  belt  from  a  source  of  power  and 
the  blocks  will  elevate  the  water  and  shoot  it  out  from  the  top  of 
the  box  in  fine  style.  For  a  short  lift  this  apparatus  discharges  quite 
a  large  volume  of  water  with  comparatively  little  power. 

DEVICES  FOR  SELF-LIFTING  WATER  SUPPLY. 

Where  running  water  is  at  hand  in  ample  supply  and  with  ade- 
quate velocity,  the  water  can  be  made  to  lift  itself  to  a  distributing 
point,  if  not  too  high.  The  most  capacious  agencies  belong  to  a 
class  of  motors  called  current  wheels. 

Current  Wheels. — A  current  wheel  is  an  arrangement  resem- 
bling the  paddle  wheel  of  a  steamboat,  with  a  central  shaft  acting 
as  a  hub  for  the  spoke-like  arms  which  carry  on  their  ends  boxes  or 
buckets.  The  wheel  is  hung  by  the  projecting  ends  of  the  shaft 
so  that  the  buckets  are  just  covered  under  the  surface  of  the  water. 
The  current  catches  them  and  causes  the  wheel  to  revolve ;  the  filled 
buckets  are  carried  up  as  empty  ones  descend  into  the  water.  The 
filled  buckets  are  emptied  as  the  turning  of  the  wheel  inverts  them, 
and  the  water  is  caught  in  a  box  properly  placed  and  is  then  con- 
ducted by  a  flume  to  the  point  of  discharge.  Current  wheels  are 
largely  used  for  short  lifts  from  streams  or  irrigation  ditches  in 
which  the  water  flows  with  sufficient  velocity  to  revolve  them.  The 
wheels  are  usually  home-made  and  much  ingenuity  can  be  employed 
in  constructing  them  of  available  materials. 

Hydraulic  Rams. — The  hydraulic  ram  is  wasteful  in  that  it  can 
deliver  at  a  higher  level  but  a  fraction  of  the  water  furnished  it  and 
it  requires  a  definite  fall  for  its  action.  Where  conditions  are  favor- 
able it  does  become  an  effective  agency  because  it  acts  incessantly 
and,  with  suitable  storage,  considerable  amounts  of  water  become 
available  for  irrigation.  Manufacturers  of  hydraulic  rams  furnish 
full  accounts  of  their  requirements  and  achievements. 

A  suggestive  combination  of  current  wheel  and  hydraulic  ram, 
in  operation  in  this  state,  is  described  as  follows: 

A.  P.  Osborn's  residence  and  the  best  part  of  his  land  are  located  on  high 
grounds  on  the  bank  of  Tule  river.  To  get  water  on  this  land  without  going 
several  miles  up  the  river  and  bringing  out  a  ditch,  Mr.  Osborn  placed  in  the 
river  a  wheel  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter  and  five  feet  wide.  Surrounding 
this  wheel  on  either  side  are  forty  boxes,  each  holding  four  gallons  of  water, 
making  in  all  eighty  boxes,  with  an  entire  lifting  capacity  of  three  hundred 
and  twenty  gallons  at  each  revolution  of  the  wheel,  which  is  turned  by  the 
current  of  the  river.  As  the  boxes  reach  an  elevation  of  twenty-two  feet,  the 
water  in  them  is  emptied  into  flume,  which  conducts  it  onward  into  an  irri- 
gation ditch.  This  elevating  the  water  twenty-two  feet  is  only  sufficient  to 
place  it  on  the  flat  whereon  is  done  the  farming,  and  will  not  take  it  to  the 
knoll  on  which  stands  the  residence.  This  is  accomplished  by  a  hydraulic 
ram.  A  part  of  the  water  reaching  the  top  of  the  river  bank  is  allowed  to 
run  back  down  the  steep  bank  through  a  pipe,  thus  furnishing  motive  power 
to  run  the  ram,  which  sends  water  up  to  the  house.  The  wheel  and  flume 
cost,  when  completed,  $150,  and,  considering  the  small  liability  of  its  becoming 
damaged,  it  is  certainly  preferable  to  keeping  in  repair  several  miles  of  ditch. 


IRRIGATING  BY   SIPHON  45 

Conveying  Water  by  Siphon. — Conveying  water  over  higher 
ground  to  a  point  of  delivery  on  the  other  side  lower  than  the  sup- 
ply point  is  a  simple  operation,  and  one  which  might  be  more  gen- 
erally employed  than  it  is.  A  simple  instance  is  this:  selecting  a 
low,  moist  spot  over  the  hill, 'a  pit  was  dug,  twelve  by  twenty-four 
feet  to  a  depth  of  twelve  feet.  When  completed,  five  and  a  half 
feet  of  water  gathered  in  the  pond.  An  inch  pipe  was  laid  along 
the  level  about  four  hundred  feet  and  over  a  gently  sloping  ridge 
twelve  and  one-half  feet  above  the  plain  and  then  down  the  slope 
westward  about  eight  hundred  feet.  At  the  summit  a  pump  was 
used  temporarily  to  draw  the  water  upward  in  the  pipe  and  soon  a 
flow  began  from  the  outlet.  The  pump  was  removed  and  the  siphon 
worked  to  perfection. 

Siphons  are  very  satisfactory  where  applicable  and  are  some- 
times made  of  pipes  of  considerable  diameter  where  the  supply  is 
large.  Such  devices  are  vastly  cheaper  than  tunneling.  It  is  even 
on  record  that  a  fruit  grower  put  in  quite  an  expensive  pumping 
plant  to  force  water  over  a  hill  to  his  orchard  on  the  other  side  and 
was  surprised  to  find  that  the  water  ran  when  the  pump  was  not  in 
motion.  He  had  not  figured  that  the  delivery  point  was  lower  than 
the  supply  point,  but  so  it  was.  In  the  case  of  conveying  water 
from  rivers  to  leveed  lands  below  the  stream,  the  siphon  is  cheaper 
than  a  flood-gate  and  safer  and  has  the  advantage  of  being  portable. 

FARM  AND  GARDEN  RESERVOIRS. 

For  the  construction  of  a  dam  to  restrain  the  water  of  a  creek 
it  is  always  wisest  for  the  man  who  has  had  no  experience  in  such 
work  to  secure  the  advice  of  an  expert.  Fortunately  such  men  are 
very  abundant  in  California  as  dam  building  has  been  a  profession 
of  Californians  ever  since  early  mining  days.  The  making  of  water- 
tight dams  on  a  small  scale  is  not  necessarily  a  very  expensive  opera- 
tion, but  it  is  liable  to  become  so  if  not  done  properly.  An  experi- 
enced man  can  give  suggestions  as  to  the  location  of  the  work  in 
view  of  the  natural  conditions  and  the  use  to  be  made  of  the  water, 
the  character  of  natural  banks  or  bottom  which  it  is  designed  to  use 
and  the  best  materials  at  hand  for  building,  as  well  as  the  proper 
form  of  the  construction  for  safety  and  efficiency  in  connection 
with  economical  completion  of  the  job.  Expert  advice  is  especially 
necessary  where  dams  are  to  be  built  for  closing  natural  waterways, 
for  such  efforts  involve  the  handling  of  volumes  of  storm  water 
which  a  farmer  may  have  little  conception  of,  though  he  may  have 
grown  up  on  the  site. 

The  excavation  of  a  small  reservoir  to  collect  water  from 
sources  wholly  apart  from  a  natural  water  course  is  a  simpler  propo- 
sition and  can  be  easily  done  with  farm  experience  and  appliances, 
and  on  this  work  some  suggestions  may  be  offered. 


46  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

First :  Location  is  governed  by  local  factors,  but  it  should  be 
at  sufficient  elevation  to  deliver  the  water  freely  at  whatever  point 
its  use  is  desired. 

Second :  Its  area  will  depend  upon  the  prospective  water 
supply.  If  this  is  ample,  do  not  make  the  pond  too  small.  A  cir- 
cular reservoir  with  an  average  depth  of  four  feet  through  a  circular 
space  forty  feet  in  diameter,  will  hold  water  enough  to  cover  two- 
thirds  of  an  acre  two  inches  deep.  This  will  amount  to  a  good  soak- 
ing of  a  good-sized  farm  garden,  and  is  probably  as  small  a  dirt 
reservoir  as  it  will  be  worth  while  to  make.  For  smaller  storage 
wooden  or  galvanized  iron  tanks  can  well  be  used. 

Third :  In  shape  the  circle  is  easiest  to  mark  out  and  construct 
symmetrically  and  encloses  the  greatest  possible  area  with  the  least 
length  of  bank,  but  on  a  small  figure  it  may  be  a  little  easier  to 
handle  teams  and  scrapers  on  an  oval. 

Fourth:  A  fairly  retentive  loam  free  from  rock  or  rubbish, 
upon  a  clay  subsoil,  favors  the  easiest  and  cheapest  construction  of 
a  dirt  resorvoir  because  with  careful  construction  it  can  be  made 
water  tight  without  using  other  materials.  Clay  is  disposed  to  leak 
through  cracking  and  sand  will  neither  hold  shape  nor  water.  Clay 
and  clean  sand,  mixed,  forms  an  ideal  material. 

Fifth:  The  earth  surface  under  both  the  pond  and  the  banks 
must  be  thoroughly  cleaned  of  all  sods  and  trash  and  the  whole 
area  plowed  and  harrowed  well  to  make  it  as  fine  as  possible.  The 
dirt  should  not  be  dumped  on  the  old  surface  to  start  the  bank. 
When  the  whole  is  plowed  and  harrowed  the  scraper  can  be  started, 
moving  the  dirt  from  the  center  to  the  banks,  and  each  scraper  load 
should  be  spread  and  lumps  broken  with  a  shovel  at  once,  leveling 
and  filling  hoof  prints  so  that  all  tramping  or  pressure  of  the  scraper 
in  passing  may  tend  toward  even  packing  of  the  soil.  All  spots  not 
reached  by  the  team  or  tools  should  be  tramped  by  the  shoveler  so 
that  no  loose  dirt  may  be  covered.  This  work  should  be  continued 
all  through  the  building.  The  harrow  should  follow  the  plow  in  the 
bottom  before  the  scraper  moves  the  dirt  to  the  bank. 

Sixth:  The  outflow  pipe  should  be  put  in  early.  A  wooden 
box  is  often  used  having  an  interior  space  of  six  by  six  inches, 
but  a  four  or  six  inch  lap-welded  steel  or  cast  iron  pipe  is  vastly 
better.  It  should  have  an  elbow  turned  up  on  the  inside  so  that 
a  plug  with  a  long  handle  can  be  used  to  open  or  close  the  exit. 
A  valve  is  better  than  a  plug,  but  it  costs  more.  The  pipe  should 
be  bedded  in  a  mass  of  concrete  so  that  it  will  not  be  loosened  by 
working  the  outlet  plug  or  valve. 

Seventh:  The  width  of  the  embankment  is  governed  by  its 
height.  The  slopes  with  the  best  of  earth  should  not  be  less  than 
two  feet  horizontal  to  one  foot  vertical  on  the  inside;  and  if  the 
material  is  light,  three  to  one  on  the  outside  will  be  none  too  much. 

Eighth :  The  bottom  and  inside  of  the  reservoir  banks  should 
be  well  puddled.  This  'is  done  by  thorough  plowing  and  harrowing 


BUILDING  SMALL  RESERVOIRS  47 

or  cultivating  to  a  depth  of  eight  inches  and  then  admitting  water 
slowly  and  keeping  the  teams  going  with  the  harrow.  Begin  at  the 
center  and  work  round  and  round  until  the  mud  becomes  as  smooth 
as  pancake  batter,  working  and  reworking  away  from  the  center 
until  the  puddle  is  carried  well  up  the  sloping  bank.  This  puddle 
layer,  if  the  soil  is  fitted  for  it,  will  make  the  pond  hold  water. 

A  Small  Reservoir  in  Sandy  Soil. — The  foregoing  construction 
will  not  hold  water  if  the  materials  are  too  coarse  in  character. 
Where  percolation  is  free  a  water-tight  covering  for  the  bottom  and 
banks  must  be  provided.  This  can  be  done  by  hauling  in  clay  for 
a  puddle  or  the  reservoir  after  shaping  may  be  cemented.  In  parts 
of  the  state  where  asphaltum  is  abundant  this  material  is  very  satis- 
factorily used,  the  asphaltum  being  melted,  mixed  with  the  sand  and 
spread  on  hot  and  smooth  down  well  with  hot  shovels  and  hoes. 

Cement  can  be  used  in  the  form  of  a  mortar  made  of  six  parts 
sharp  clean  sand  to  one  part  Portland  cement.  Apply  two  coats, 
and  then  brush  over  with  a  whitewash  of  clear  cement  and  water. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  make  walls  of  brick  or  stone  on  which  to 
cement.  Cement  directly  on  the  earth,  even  if  it  be  sand  or  gravel, 
answers  perfectly.  As  we  have  no  earth-freezing  such  work  is  safe. 
If  there  should  be  cracks,  give  a  coat  of  clear  cement  and  water 
and  it  will  close  them  up.  But  cracking  should  be  prevented  as  far  as 
possible  by  being  sure  that  the  earth  is  well  settled  before  cementing. 

The  use  of  clay  puddle  is  also  very  satisfactory.  The  following 
is  the  plan  of  construction  followed  by  Mr.  Edward  Berwick,  of 
Carmel  valley,  Monterey  county,  in  building  a  reservoir  which  stood 
thirty  years  of  constant  use : 

My  reservoir  is  eighty  feet  in  diameter  and  made  on  land  with  a  slope  of 
say  one  in  forty.  I  drove  a  peg  in  for  a  center,  took  a  forty-foot  line  and 
marked  a  circle.  I  dug  a  trench  eighteen  inches  in  width,  say  three  feet  deep 
where  the  land  level  was  lowest  and  five  feet  where  it  was  highest,  so  that 
the  ditch  bottom  was  level.  I  filled  the  ditch  with  puddled  clay,  well  tamped, 
then  excavated  a  width  of  perhaps  ten  feet,  just  inside  the  clay  ring,  to 
the  level  required  for  the  reservoir  bottom.  I  lined  this  ten  feet  of  floor 
with  clay,  being  careful  to  unite  the  clay  of  the  ditch  ring  with  this  floor. 
Then  began  clearing  out  the  middle  of  the  reservoir  and  banking  up  on 
this  ten-foot  floor,  and  also  on  outside,  at  the  same  time  adding  clay  to  the 
ditch  ring  as  the  embankment  grew. 

When  the  required  excavation  was  made,  cleared  up  well  to  the  edge  of 
the  ten-foot  wide  floor,  I  put  in  the  clay  for  the  rest  of  the  bottom,  uniting  it, 
of  course,  with  the  ten  feet  already  laid,  but  now  covered  with  the  inner  em- 
bankment. A  three-inch  discharge  pipe  was  laid  at  the  bottom,  with  neces- 
sary fittings. 

The  reservoir  is  nearly  seven  feet  deep  when  filled,  and  forms  an  excel- 
lent bathing  tank  for  the  family  in  addition  to  its  irrigation  service. 

This  is  a  very  thorough  style  of  construction.  It  would  be 
cheaper  to  excavate  as  described  in  the  previous  list  of  suggestions 
and  then  trust  to  a  clay  layer  evenly  spread  over  the  bottom  and 
sloping  sides,  but  the  use  of  the  puddle  trench  and  flat  floor  is  surer 
to  hold  water.  The  puddle  trench  is  carried  to  the  top  of  the  bank ; 


48  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

clay  layering  on  the  sloping  bank  will  crack  as  the  water  is  drawn 
down  and  is  apt  to  be  leaky.  Mr.  Berwick  has  scraped  out  a  very 
rich  deposit  of  mud  and  decayed  leaves  and  water  weed  once  since 
he  built  the  reservoir,  thus  obtaining  a  considerable  amount  of 
fertilizer,  and  after  scraping,  the  bottom  was  given  a  new  floor  of 
clay.  He  has  also  raised  the  sides  of  the  reservoir  one  foot  and  put 
in  exit  pipes  of  four  and  six  inches  to  release  water  in  different 
directions. 

Stone  or  Brick  Watts  for  Reservoirs. — Very  shapely  but  rather 
more  expensive  walls  can,  of  course,  be  made  of  stone  or  brick  laid 
in  cement  or  of  reinforced  concrete,  and  in  this  way  the  water  con- 
tents of  the  same  diameter  can  be  increased.  The  bottom  can  be 
puddled  or  clayed  or  cemented,  according  to  the  character  of  the 
ground  or  the  taste  of  the  builder. 

Subterranean  Reservoirs. — Large  shallow  wells  are  often  the 
cheapest  reservoirs,  and  with  pumps  of  large  outflow  sufficient 
head  is  secured  for  direct  application  to  the  distributing  ditches. 
Tunnels  are  also  subterranean  reservoirs  and  are  frequently  used 
as  such.  Both  these  wells  and  tunnels  are  economical  of  water,  as 
evaporation  is  very  slight.  The  following  is  an  instance. 

Mr.  C.  L.  Durban  says  that  the  cheapest  reservoir  that  a  man  can  build 
on  his  land  for  retaining  water  for  irrigation  purposes  is  a  tunnel  run  into  a 
hill.  An  open  reservoir  in  a  canon  or  other  suitable  place,  will  lose  one- 
third  of  its  water  during  the  summer  from  evaporation,  while  in  a  tunnel 
there  is  no  loss.  A  small  spring  will  supply  a  tunnel  with  sufficient  water 
for  many  purposes.  He  has  illustrated  this  in  a  practical  manner.  On  his 
own  land  at  Mesilla  valley,  he  run  a  tunnel  thirty-five  feet  long  into  a  hill,  in 
so  doing  tapping  a  spring ;  this  tunnel  he  dammed  up,  leaving  a  space  thirty- 
five  feet  long  and  the  size  of  the  tunnel,  which  is  about  five  feet  by  six 
feet,  to  be  filled  with  water.  He  says  that  the  tunnel  is  the  cheapest  and 
best  form,  and  that  for  each  dollar  expended  one  can  obtain  a  space  equal 
to  twenty-five  cubic  feet. 

Sub-irrigation  by  Trenches. — Another  form  of  subterranean 
reservoir  consists  of  trenches  filled  up  to  the  plow-depth  with  broken 
rock.  It  is  prodigiously  expensive  and  seems  only  worthy  of  con- 
sideration in  the  improvement  of  a  hillside  home  place,  where  satis- 
faction is  not  conditioned  upon  cost.  A  California  instance  of  the 
system  is  the  following,  found  in  Lassen  county  in  the  improvement 
of  a  homegarden: 

The  grounds  have  too  great  a  slope  for  spraying  and  instead  of  supply- 
ing surface  ditches,  the  owner  constructed  permanent  trenches,  which  have 
no  outlet  except  by  seepage.  These  trenches  extend  one  hundred  feet  in 
length  along  the  face  of  the  slope,  each  being  eighteen  inches  deep  and  thirty 
inches  wide.  The  earth  was  scattered  on  the  upper  side  of  each  cut,  and  by 
a  little  care  in  plowing  the  garden  was  terraced  into  slopes  of  less  grade, 
each  one  hundred  feet  long,  and  twenty-eight  feet  wide.  As  a  driveway 
passes  along  each  end  of  the  terrace,  nearly  all  the  cultivation  is  done  by  a 
horse  turning  on  the  driveways. 

The  trenches  are  designed  as  miniature  reservoirs,  and  are  kept  nearly 
full,  when  irrigation  is  required,  by  a  small  stream  flowing  from  one-half- 
inch  standpipes  at  one  end  of  each  trench.  The  ground  is  free  from  stone, 


WAYS  TO  IRRIGATE  GARDENS  49 

friable  and  easily  irrigated.  These  trenches  proved  quite  sufficient  to  irri 
gate  the  garden  in  the  long,  dry  summers  of  this  region,  and  ground  which 
would  not  mature  white  beans,  rye,  or  buckwheat,  produced  heavy  crops  of 
sweet  corn,  tomatoes,  peas,  strawberries  and  all  small  fruits,  asparagus, 
celery,  potatoes,  onions,  melons,  and,  in  short,  the  usual  variety  of  first-class 
gardens.  In  the  middle  of  the  lower  terraces,  and  occasionally  about  the 
grounds,  are  planted  a  few  family  fruit  trees. 

The  size  of  the  stream  filling  each  trench  is  incredibly  small.  By  actual 
measurement,  each  trench  is  supplied  by  the  flow  of  three  quarts  per  minute ; 
each  one  of  these  streams  thus  irrigating  a  strip  of  land  twenty-eight  feet 
wide  and  one  hundred  feet  long. 

THE   APPLICATION    OF    WATER. 

Many  methods  are  followed  in  the  distribution  of  water  in  the 
garden.  Which  is  the  best  method  must  be  determined  largely  by 
the  character  of  the  soil,  and  to  meet  this  requirement  one  must 
sometimes  sacrifice  some  of  the  incidental  advantages  of  other 
methods. 

A  general  statement  of  the  simpler  forms  of  garden  irrigation 
as  practiced  in  California  by  Prof.  S.  S.  Rogers  of  the  University 
Farm  is  as  follows : 

"The  smaller  vegetables  such  as  radishes,  onions,  lettuce,  etc.,  are 
usually  planted  in  beds  about  10  by  20  feet,  throwing  a  levee  a  few  inches  in 
height  around  it.  These  are  flooded  as  often  as  necessary.  As  these  tender 
vegetables  are  very  liable  to  sunburn  during  the  hot  summer  months  the 
irrigation  is  usually  done  in  the  evening  or  early  morning,  for  if  the  water 
was  applied  during  the  midday  there  would  be  considerable  danger  from 
burning  the  young  plants.  After  the  irrigation  the  soil  should  be  watched 
very  closely  and  as  soon  as  it  is  sufficiently  dry  a  thorough  cultivation  should 
be  given.  If  this  is  deferred  too  long  the  ground  will  become  so  hard  that 
it  will  be  impossible  to  get  a  good  mulch.  When  growing  the  larger  vege- 
tables such  as  cabbage,  peas,  beans,  potatoes,  etc.,  the  water  should  be  ap- 
plied in  furrows  between  the  rows  of  plants.  The  earth  should  be  cultivated 
when  it  is  in  the  best  possible  condition,  which  can  only  be  told  by  care- 
fully watching  each  field." 

Checks. — Where  the  garden  soil  is  very  light,  open  and  leachy, 
the  vegetables  are  often  grown  in  checks  or  divisions  larger  or 
smaller,  according  to  the  slope  of  the  land ;  the  checks  being  inclosed 
by  little  banks  or  levees  which  hold  the  water  from  escape  except 
as  it  sinks  vertically  into  the  soil.  This  is  the  only  way  by  which  a 
leachy  soil  can  be  uniformly  moistened,  except  by  sprinkling,  which 
is  seldom  economical  and  is  seldom  followed  in  California  except 
in  village  garden  practice.  The  banks  of  the  checks  serves  as  walks 
upon  which  one  can  go  dry-shod  from  place  to  place  and  regulate 
the  distribution  of  water.  The  garden,  then,  during  irrigation,  shows 
the  plants  growing  in  shallow  vats  of  water  of  irregular  shape  and 
size  and  when  the  water  sinks-  away  they  are  seen  to  be  in  sunken 
beds.  This  system  sadly  interferes  with  the  use  of  the  horse  in 
cultivation  unless  the  ground  is  practically  level  and  the  checks  can 
be  made  very  large.  In  small  checks  the  cultivation  must  be  done 
by  hand.  Market  gardeners  do  this  faithfully  but  the  amateur  is 


50  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

apt  to  be  careless  about  it  and  to  trust  to  frequently  rilling  the 
checks  instead  of  regularly  stirring  the  soil.  This  tends  to  cement 
the  surface,  exclude  the  air  and  make  the  soil  sodden.  The  plants 
lose  their  free,  healthy  growth  and  show  their  distress. 

Raised  Beds. — These  are  just  the  reverse  of  the  check  system 
for  the  ground  surface  is  raised  a  little  by  the  dirt  thrown  out  in 
excavating  narrow  ditches  about  four  or  five  feet  apart  through 
which  the  water  is  allowed  to  flow  slowly  if  the  ground  is  nearly 
level;  if  slightly  sloping,  small  dams  are  made  at  such  distances 
apart  as  are  necessary  to  hold  the  water  at  about  uniform  depth 
below  the  surfaces  of  the  beds.  In  this  system  the  distribution  of  the 
water  is  very  largely  accomplished  by  the  capillarity  of  the  soil, 
though  the  market  gardeners  who  affect  this  method  also  shower 


Depressed   Beds   and   Irrigation   System. 


Raised  Beds  or  Ridges  Irrigated  by  Capillarity. 

the  plants  from  time  to  time  by  throwing  the  water  up  from  the 
ditch  with  a  scoop  shovel  or  a  shallow  pan.  The  narrow  ditches 
serve  as  walks  in  working  around  the  beds  and  rubber  boots  are  in 
request.  By  this  system  ample  water  supplies  are  constantly  had 
within  reach  of  the  roots  and  as  the  surface  is  never  puddled  it  is 
easy  to  keep  it  loose  and  open  to  the  air.  When  the  crop  is  gathered 
the  whole  field  is  deeply  broken  up  with  the  plow  and  harrow  and 
the  whole  system  laid  out  anew,  as  soon  as,  in  the  course  of  rotation, 
a  crop  requiring  such  hydropathic  treatment  comes  again  to  the 
ground. 


PLANTING  ON  CONTOUR  DITCHES 


51 


Spirit  level  on  frame,  to  make  easy  the  laying  out  of 
contour  irrigation. 

Permanent  Ditches. — The  use  of  permanent  ditches  was  for- 
merly very  common  in  the  irrigation  of  sloping  garden  ground  and 
is  still  somewhat  observed.  These  ditches  are  drawn  very  nearly 
on  contour  lines,  only  just  enough  fall  being  given  to  move  the 
water  slowly.  When  the  slope  is  nearly  uniform  the  ditches  are 
almost  parallel  and  they  are  distanced  according  to  what  is  known 
of  the  movement  of  water  by  seepage  down  the  slope  in  each  par- 
ticular soil.  The  plantings  are  made  on  the  plan  of  each  strip 
securing  its  moisture  from  the  ditch  above  and  water  is  admitted 
occasionally  or  kept  running  almost  continuously  according  to  the 
needs  of  the  particular  crop  or  the  leakiness  of  the  ditch.  The  out- 
flow from  the  ditch,  after  traversing  backward  and  forward  its  full 
length,  is  carried  to  an  alfalfa  patch  below  and  thus  utilized.  These 
permanent  ditches  serve  a  good  purpose  in  saving  hillsides  from 
washing  as  they  catch  the  surface  storm  water  before  it  has  a  chance 
to  acquire  much  headway  and  carry  it  down  gently.  Where  the 
soil  favors  such  distribution  very  good  results  are  attained  with 
these  ditches,  but  the  tendency  is  to  use  the  ditches  too  long  and 
allow  them  to  become  cemented  by  action  of  water  and  deposit  of 
slime.  Besides  they  grow  weeds  and  distribute  seeds  if  their  banks 
are  neglected. 

Small  Zigzag  Method  on  a  Slope. — Contour  ditches  for  single 
rows  of  vegetables  have  satisfied  H.  L.  Wolfsen  of  Colfax,  Placer 
county,  who  gives  this  advice : 

After  the  soil  is  prepared,  stakes  should  be  placed  where  the  contour 
ditch  will  be  made.  To  do  this,  a  carpenter's  level  is  fastened  to  a  board 
which  has  two  legs  of  equal  length.  A  half-inch  is  then  added  to  the  foot 
of  one  leg  which  will  insure  the  right  amount  of  fall  to  the  ditch. 

Contour  so  as  to  wind  back  and  forth  down  the  slope.  It  will  depend 
upon  the  kind  of  vegetables  grown  how  far  the  ditches  should  be  apart.  At 
the  turns,  which  will  be  quite  steep,  stones  may  be  placed  to  prevent  washing. 
The  ditches  should  not  be  more  than  twenty  or  thirty  feet  long  before  they 
turn,  or  else  the  rows  will  be  too  far  apart.  The  amount  of  water  to  irri- 
gate with  will  determine  how  far  the  patch  should  extend. 

When  the  ditch  is  being  made,  scrape  the  upper  edge  smooth,  placing 
all  of  the  soil  which  is  taken  out  on  the  lower  side  and  smoothing  it,  ready 
for  the  seeds,  or  young  plants  from  the  hot-beds.  Water  should  be  run  in 
the  ditch  in  a  moderately  large  stream  at  first  until  it  reaches  the  end  of  the 
ditch,  and  then  in  a  small  stream  until  the  moisture  shows  past  the  seed  row 
or  small  plants.  Then  the  water  can  be  stopped  and  at  the  proper  time 
cultivate  the  lower  side  of  the  ditch  with  a  rake.  The  top  of  the  rows  will 


52  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

not  need  to  be  cultivated  unless  the  water  has  been  on  too  long  and  made 
the  soil  soggy.  Once  the  garden  is  made  it  is  very  little  work  to  keep  in  a 
tip-top  condition. 

Lowland  Irrigation  by  Seepage. — Another  form  of  irrigation 
by  means  of  permanent  ditches  is  that  practiced  on  reclaimed  lands 
along  the  interior  rivers.  When  the  rivers  are  swollen  from  sum- 
mer melting  of  snow  in  the  high  Sierra,  the  water  is  brought  to  the 
land  by  flood-gates  in  the  levees.  When  the  rivers  are  low  very 
capacious  pumping  plants  are  used — the  same  serving  at  other  times 
to  drain  the  lands  when  they  are  too  wet  from  the  rainfall  or  seep- 
age. The  soils  of  these  reclaimed  lands  is  loose  and  prone  to  dry 
out  because  of  their  lack  of  capillarity,  so  that  at  times  irrigation  is 
as  necessary  as  on  uplands.  The  water  is  distributed  by  means  of 
small,  rather  deep,  ditches  from  which  moisture  readily  extends  as 
the  water  moves  out  over  the  clay  bottom  which  underlies  most  of 
these  lands  and  makes  it  possible  to  hold  the  water  up  within  reach 
of  the  roots  of  the  plants.  With  rich  land,  high  heat  and  ample 
moisture  just  below  the  surface  the  growth  is  almost  marvelous. 
On  these  lowlands  flooding  the  surface  frequently  seriously  injures 
the  plants  by  sun  scald. 

Ridge  System  of  Irrigating  and  Planting. — Another  plan  of 
using  seepage  from  permanent  ditches  is  the  ridge  system  by  which 
the  water  is  run  at  a  little  elevation  above  the  surface,  upright 
plants  being  placed  beside  the  water  on  the  top  of  the  ridges  and 
running  plants  on  the  side  of  the  ridges  with  the  lower  ground 
between  the  ridges  for  the  extension  of  their  growth.  The  general 
significance  of  the  arrangement  lies  in  keeping  the  water  supply 
constant  near  the  roots,  and  it  is  adapted  to  rather  open  soils  in 
which  lateral  percolation  is  deficient.  The  elevation  of  the  ditch 
thus  helps  to  hold  moisture  near  the  surface  on  which  the  plants 
are  placed  without  resorting  to  flooding  as  in  the  check  system.  It 
is  obviously  well  adapted  to  a  region  of  very  light  rainfall  and  can 
be  laid  out  in  a  way  to  drain  the  ridges  when  surplus  water  has  to 
be  disposed  of.  It  involves  a  large  amount  of  hand  work.  In  a 
locality  where  both  summer  and  winter  gardening  must  be  largely 
dependent  upon  irrigation  it  has  striking  advantages.  The  follow- 
ing description  is  from  a  Kern  county  vegetable  grower,9  who  speaks 
from  five  years'  satisfactory  experience  with  the  method : 

In  preparing  the  ground  make  it  as  near  level  as  possible,  and  cover  the 
soil  with  about  two  inches  of  manure  (avoid  coarse  straw  or  stalks),  and 
plow  this  under  six  to  eight  inches  deep.  Then  harrow  and  cultivate  until 
the  soil  is  smooth  and  fine.  Use  a  wire  or  line  to  lay  out  the  ground ;  spread 
fine  manure  (well  rotted  is  preferable)  two  feet  wide  and  one  inch  thick,  on 
a  line  directly  from  your  windmill  or  tank  across  the  plat  of  ground.  Take 
a  plow  and  turn  two  furrows  together  directly  over  the  manure,  making  a 
high  ridge.  Smooth  and  firm  the  soil  with  a  rake  or  hoe,  and  directly  on 
top  and  lengthwise  of  the  ridge  form  a  ditch  or  trough  about  five  inches 
wide  and  three  inches  deep,  on  a  grade  so  the  water  will  run  from  one  end 

9  F.  M.  Reynolds,  Delano. 


WAYS  TO  USE  WATER  53 

of  the  ridge  to  the  other,  connecting  the  ends  so  that  the  water  will  run  the 
entire  length  of  all  the  ridges  without  any  attention;  or  you  can  make  the 
ridges  around  the  plat,  which  will  enable  you  to  distribute  the  water  from 
the  ridge  to  any  point  desired  by  means  of  a  small  piece  of  pipe  inserted  in 
the  edge  of  the  trough,  always  maintaining  a  uniformity  of  moisture,  which 
is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  growth  of  certain  vegetables.  Run  the  water 
through  the  ditch  until  it  is  settled  and  well  moistened,  then  plant  the  seed 
at  the  base  and  on  either  side  of  the  ridge. 

Do  not  allow  the  water  to  rise  up  over  the  beds  under  any  circumstances. 
If  the  work  is  properly  done  the  water  will  run  through  the  ditches  in  the 
high  ridges  and  from  their  termination  will  continue  from  one  trench  to 
another,  till  each  bed  in  the  plat  is  nicely  moistened,  and  after  once  thor- 
oughly wet  and  settled  it  will  not  require  more  than  one-half  of  the  water  it 
does  at  first,  unless  the  soil  is  very  sandy  and  loose.  Remember  it  is  the 
small  stream  long  drawn  out  that  counts  and  gives  the  best  results. 

Practice  with  This  System. — Concerning  practice  with  the  dif- 
ferent vegetables  and  the  preparation  of  ridges  and  beds  for  them, 
Mr.  Reynolds  gives  the  following  suggestions : 

Plant  melons  and  winter  squash  seven  feet  apart  on  the  sides  of  the 
ridges,  which  should  be  eight  feet  apart  for  these  varieties,  and  about  five  feet 
apart  for  corn,  beans,  summer  crook-neck  squash,  cucumbers,  and  tomatoes. 
After  preparing  the  ground  and  planting  the  seed  neither  the  ditch  nor  plants 
will  require  much  attention  more  than  to  keep  the  weeds  out.  For  the 
growth  of  other  vegetables,  such  as  peas,  cauliflower,  cabbage,  carrots,  pars- 
nips, radish,  beets,  lettuce,  asparagus,  egg  plant,  spinach,  peppers,  onions, 
garlic,  rhubarb,  and  tomato  plants,  prepare  the  ground  by  forming  it  into  beds 
fourteen  inches  wide  and  two  inches  higher  in  the  center  than  on  either 
ridge,  with  a  small  trench  between  them  six  inches  wide  and  three  inches 
deep.  They  can  be  made  wider  and  deeper  if  a  large  amount  of  water  is 
available.  After  the  beds  are  prepared  run  the  water  through  them  and 
recrossing  the  beds  that  are  defective,  so  the  water  will  rise  to  a  uniform 
height  on  each,  within  about  one  inch  of  the  top.  Make  a  depression  on 
.each  side  of  the  bed  two  and  one-half  inches  from  the  edge  with  a  hoe  and 
one  and  one-half  inches  deep.  Sow  the  seed  not  less  than  one-half  inch 
apart  and  be  very  careful  not  to  cover  the  seed  more  than  one-half  inch 
deep.  Every  good  seed  will  grow,  and  those  which  are  to  remain  in  the  rows 
must  be  properly  thinned  out.  When  tomato  plants  are  from  three  to  five 
inches  tall,  transplant  them  on  either  side  of  the  high  ridges,  five  feet  apart 
in  the  row.  Transplant  cabbage  and  egg  plants  when  they  are  from  two  to 
three  inches  tall,  in  vacant  beds,  the  former  eighteen  inches  apart  in  the  row 
for  early  and  close  heading  varieties,  and  twenty-eight  inches  apart  for  late 
and  spreading  varieties,  and  egg  plants  twenty-four  inches  apart  in  the  row. 
A  pint  of  fine  manure  from  the  cow-yard  placed  six  inches  below  the  surface 
under  each  plant  will  insure  a  cabbage  from  nearly  every  plant.  Pepper 
plants  should  be  transplanted  eighteen  inches  apart  in  the  row. 

Picturesque  Irrigation. — A  modification  of  the  permanent  ditch 
plan  is  quite  widely  practiced  on  the  sand  hills  south  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. The  water  is  lifted  from  wells  by  windmills,  the  discharge 
from  the  pump  being  taken  at  such  elevation  that  it  will  flow  in  a 
small  flume  supported  by  a  trestle  to  the  highest  point  of  the  land 
to  be  irrigated.  Hence  the  water  is  carried  in  small  contour  ditches 
hither  and  thither  until  every  corner  of  the  very  irregular  slopes  is 
reached.  Short  lines  of  vegetables  are  planted  about  at  right  angles 
to  these  small  permanent  ditches  and  short  spurs  made  with  the 
hoe  so  that  the  water  is  brought  beside  each  individual  plant.  As 


54  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

the  slope  is  so  broken  and  the  soil  so  open,  anything  like  uniform 
seepage  is  out  of  the  question.  The  appearance  of  these  gardens  is 
exceedingly  picturesque  with  the  little  beds  tucked  in  here  and  there, 
showing  varying  shades  of  green  on  miniature  terraces  and  slopes 
and  flats  irregularly  intermingled  often  within  the  area  of  an  acre 
or  two — the  lines  of  the  mill  frame  and  flume  trestle  so  thin  and 
long  and  intercrossed  as  to  suggest  that  a  colossal  spider  had  spun 
her  web  upon  the  verdure.  All  this  is  hand  work  and  back  work 
in  cultivation  and  irrigation,  in  carrying  manure  up  and  produce 
down,  and  represents  a  fragment  of  the  south  of  Europe  cast  upon 
the  map  of  California. 

Small  Furrow  Distribution. — All  the  foregoing  methods  of  dis- 
tribution may  suggest  something  for  the  American  farm  garden  in 
California  providing  the  soil  and  situation  are  best  served  in  such 
ways,  but  for  the  most  part  the  farm  garden  will  be  upon  land  of 
moderate  slope  with  loams  which  take  water  well  and  are  fairly 
retentive  of  it.  Under  such  circumstances  the  distribution  of  water 
in  many  small  streams  along  furrows  drawn  by  a  small  plow,  ac- 
complishing complete  moistening  without  flooding  of  the  surface, 
is  the  system  to  be  adopted  and  conscientiously  practiced.  It  is 
most  economical  of  water  not  only  in  the  first  application  but  by 
conservation  of  its  moisture  by  the  thorough  surface  cultivation 
which  must  follow  each  irrigation.  Water  is  carried  along  the 
ridge  or  ridges  of  the  tract  in  a  plank  flume,  of  dimensions  propor- 
tional to  the  size  of  the  area  to  be  irrigated,  and  with  many  open- 
ings, to  be  closed  or  opened  at  pleasure,  so  that  small  streams  of 
water  can  be  brought  out  into  many  small  furrows  and  allowed  to 
proceed  slowly  until  they  reach  the  bottom  where  the  surplus  may 
be  caught  in  a  cross-furrow  and  carried  to  other  uses.  By  this 
method  the  water  can  be  evenly  distributed  with  hardly  a  stroke 
of  hand  work  and  the  soil,  with  its  surface  always  open  to  access  of 
air,  and  never  allowed  to  compact  itself  around  the  plants,  affords 
conditions  perfectly  adapted  to  thrifty,  quick  growth  of  the  plants. 
This  method  conforms  best  with  the  most  economical  laying  off  of 
the  farm  garden,  which  will  be  urged  later  from  other  points  of 
view,  viz.:  the  planting  in  long  rows  with  uniform  interspaces  so 
that  horse-power  and  the  best  implements  can  be  employed  to  their 
fullest  extent  in  every  operation  from  the  seed  planting  to  the 
gathering  of  the  crop. 

Furrow  Irrigation  on  Hillsides. — It  is  often  desirable  to  make 
the  farm  garden  on  a  hillside  and  this  can  be  managed  by  horse 
work  without  terracing  more  easily  than  one  might  think  at  first. 
The  plan  must  be  to  work  nearly  on  contour  lines  in  laying  out  the 
rows  of  vegetables  and  in  the  subsequent  cultivation  and  irrigation. 
The  following  will  be  found  suggestive  in  regard  to  the  distribution 
of  water: 

The  water  is  delivered  from  a  flume  laid  down  the  hillside,  and  fitted 
with  cleats  at  each  hole  so  as  to  throw  off  enough  water  at  the  sides,  or 


SPRINKLING  AND  SUB-IRRIGATION  55 

sometimes  the  flume  is  laid  in  steps  connected  with  a  bit  of  covered  flume 
from  step  to  step.  The  latter  is  best  for  very  steep  hills,  though,  with  care, 
the  other  may  be  used  on  a  greater  slope  than  one  would  imagine.  Another 
flume  should  be  laid  at  the  end  of  the  furrows  to  carry  off  the  waste  water. 

The  contours  may  be  laid  out  by  anyone  with  a  carpenter's  common 
level.  Fifty-five  feet  to  the  mile  is  nearly  right  for  a  very  fine  stream  on 
most  soils.  And  this  is  about  one  foot  in  ninety-six,  or  two  inches  in  sixteen 
feet.  Therefore  take  a  sixteen-foot  plank  and  level  it  to  a  slope  of  two 
inches  in  its  whole  length.  Then  when  the  upper  edge  of  this  is  level  the 
lower  edge  will  represent  the  required  grade  for  your  ditch.  In  this  way  the 
work  can  be  done  very  rapidly. 

The  same  thing  is  equally  good  for  laying  common  little  flumes,  cement 
ditches,  etc.  But  in  earth,  one  should  determine  by  trial  the  amount  of  slope 
the  soil  will  stand  without  cutting  or  filling  up  with  sediment  or  refusing  to 
run  fast  enough  in  case  the  soil  is  very  porous.  A  mistake  of  a  few  inches 
in  a  hundred  feet  will  generally  not  be  serious,  but  the  more  nearly  exact  you 
can  get  it  the  better.  Every  approach  to  perfection  in  your  first  arrange- 
ments diminishes  your  future  work  and  annoyance. 

All  manner  of  stuff  is  now  raised  in  this  way  in  California  on  hillsides 
that  a  few  years  ago,  when  covered  with  brush,  seemed  too  steep  and  rough 
even  to  plow.  When  once  made  the  furrows,  of  course,  are  left  in  place  but 
the  water  finds  its  way  to  the  center  between  them  quite  as  well  as  on  more 
level  ground. 

Irrigation  by  Sprinkling. — Systems  of  iron  pipe  laid  below 
reach  of  plow  and  spade  and  furnished  with  stand  pipes  and  revolv- 
ing sprinklers,  or  other  showering  devices,  have  been  successfully 
used  to  a  limited  extent,  and  some  have  strongly  favored  them  in 
spite  of  the  considerable  cost  of  the  outfit.  They  are  worthy  of 
consideration  where  water  under  adequate  pressure  is  avialable. 
They  are  labor-saving,  but  they  encourage  neglect  of  cultivation, 
and  to  that  extent  are  undesirable,  especially  on  soils  which  harden 
on  drying.  But  surface  crusting  is  obviated  by  using  a  very  fine 
spray  and  on  some  soils  is  not  likely  to  occur  even  with  coarse 
sprinkling. 

Sub-irrigation  by  Tile  or  Pipes. — Californians  have  been  ex- 
perimenting with  subterranean  distribution  with  tile  or  specially 
constructed  pipes  and  outlets  for  probably  more  than  forty  years 
and  yet  none  of  the  proposed  systems  have  ever  come  into  use  ex- 
cept under  the  eye  of  the  inventor.  In  early  days  iron  troughs 
inverted  on  redwood  boards;  small  flumes  or  boxes  of  redwood 
boards ;  brick  set  on  edge  and  covered  with  boards ;  drain  tile  with 
and  without  perforations — all  these  were  suggested,  given  trial  and 
abandoned.  All  experiments  proceeded  upon  the  plan  of  thus 
making  permanent  water  conduits  below  the  point  reached  in  spad- 
ing or  plowing,  and  they  all  became  inoperative.  The  failure  was 
usually  charged  to  the  filling  of  the  pipes  with  plant  roots  and  in 
some  cases  this  was  seen  to  be  the  reason.  In  other  cases  the  failure 
of  the  system  was  due  to  the  fact  that  in  light  soils  lacking  capil- 
larity, the  water  rapidly  sank  away  from  the  pipes  out  of  the  reach 
of  the  roots  and  shallow  rooting  plants  failed  though  there  was 
moisture  flowing  to  waste  through  a  pervious  subsoil.  Mr.  E.  M. 
Hamilton  of  East  Los  Angeles  invented  a  system  of  continuous 


56  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

cement  pipes  laid  by  a  machine  operating  in  the  trench  which  pre- 
vented access  of  roots  because  it  had  openings  only  at  intervals 
where  the  water  was  discharged  into  air  spaces  each  of  which  could 
be  seen  through  a  vertical  pipe  rising  to  the  surface  and  furnished 
with  a  cover.  This  has  worked  well  for  many  years  on  Mr.  Hamil- 
ton's place  for  the  irrigation  of  trees  or  other  deep  rooting  plants 
at  considerable  distances  apart,  for  which  use  it  seems  best  suited. 
To  fill  the  earth  with  such  pipes  with  openings  near  enough  together 
to  serve  for  shallow  rooting  vegetables,  is  appallingly  expensive, 
and  the  stand  pipes  cumber  the  surface  so  that  nothing  but  hand 
spading  or  cultivating  could  be  done  without  destruction  of  them. 
It  would  be  cheaper  and  better  to  pipe  the  ground  with  iron  pipes 
and  brass  faucets  even  though  the  theoretical  advantage  of  subter- 
ranean application  had  to  be  abandoned. 

At  the  East  within  a  few  years  the  use  of  the  drain  tile  laid 
along  the  rows  of  vegetables  near  the  surface  has  given  the  best 
results  in  an  experimental  way.  By  this  plan  the  tile  are  to  be  taken 
up  and  relaid  for  each  crop,  which  can  be  quickly  done.  Water 
thus  administered  may  serve  well  in  soil  not  disposed  to  puddle 
down  or  possibly  may  be  more  successful  where  the  summer  air  is 
less  dry  and  soil  baking"  less  active  than  in  California,  but  in  many 
of  our  garden  soils  the  soil  would  solidify,  and  even  if  moisture 
were  adequate  to  prevent  baking,  the  proper  entrance  of  air  would 
be  largely  prevented.  On  the  other  hand,  in  coarse  soils  water 
applied  underground  would  quickly  pass  out  of  reach  of  shallow 
rooting  plants. 

The  experience  of  Californians  is  against  any  such  arrange- 
ment of  soil  and  water.  Except  in  such  soils  as  have  already  been 
described  as  working  well  by  seepage  systems,  surface  application 
of  water  followed  by  thorough  surface  cultivation,  produces  as  a 
rule  the  best  combination  of  moisture,  heat,  aeration  and  rapid  root- 
extension,  which  pushes  the  plant  to  its  utmost  in  rapid  and  satis- 
factory growth. 

WINTER    IRRIGATION. 

Winter  irrigation  is  increasing  in  California  as  a  surety  that 
the  year's  water  supply  will  be  above  a  certain  minimum.  Decidu- 
ous trees  and  vines,  on  soil  that  is  fairly  retentive,  can  be  carried 
through  a  satisfactory  year's  growth  and  fruiting  with  good  culti- 
vation, by  artificially  soaking  the  soil  in  winter.  In  this  way  injury 
to  the  trees  or  vines  by  a  year  of  scant  rainfall  is  avoided.  The 
practice  has  not  the  same  value  in  garden  practice  because  there 
still  will  remain  the  demand  for  summer  irrigation  if  succession  of 
fresh  vegetables  is  to  be  secured.  But  for  ample  crops  of  staple 
field  vegetables  which  are  usually  grown  without  summer  irriga- 
tion, the  winter  soaking  method  is  of  the  same  importance  that  it 
is  with  fruit  trees — it  insures  ample  moisture  every  year. 


~J 

be 


be 


be 
— 
— 


WARM   WATER  DESIRABLE  57 

Fall  and  winter  irrigation  are  very  important  in  gardening  in 
regions  of  uncertain  rainfall  because  they  bring  the  soil  into  condi- 
tion for  the  early  planting  which  is  often  the  secret  of  satisfaction 
and  success.  In  southern  California  and  the  interior  of  the  central 
regions  of  the  state  as  well,  he  who  waits  for  rainfall  to  start  his 
gardening  often  loses  half  the  season's  producing  capacity.  In 
parts  of  the  state  the  rain  at  its  maximum  is  seldom  excessive,  con- 
sequently one  incurs  no  danger,  but  invites  every  benefit  by  wetting 
the  soil  well  and  going  to  work  at  least  with  the  hardier  vegetables 
while  the  autumn  sunshine  still  imparts  warmth  to  the  soil. 

The  use  of  winter  storm  water  often  results  in  a  considerable 
contribution  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil  in  the  form  of  silt  and  other 
materials  rich  in  plant  food. 

TEMPERATURE   OF    IRRIGATION    WATER. 

It  is  a  fact  of  common  observation  that  a  considerable  amount 
of  water  either  from  cold  rains  or  from  cold  irrigation  water  may 
cause  a  "shock"  to  a  growing  plant  and  interfere  with  its  normal 
development.  This  fact  is  accounted  for  by  Professor  Hilgard  in 
this  'way : 

Since  the  capacity  of  water  for  heat  is  approximately  five  times  greater 
than  that  of  the  average  soil,  equal  weights  being  considered,  it  follows  that 
the  temperature  of  the  soil  water  must  exert  a  controlling  influence  over  that 
of  the  soil.  It  is  not  surprising,  then,  that  the  occurrence  of  cold  or  warm 
rains  or  the  use  of  cold  or  warm  irrigation  water,  at  a  critical  period,  may 
largely  determine  the  success  or  failure  of  a  crop. 

It  is  therefore  often  essential  that  cold  water  from  a  well  or 
stream  often  needs  exposure  to  the  sun  in  a  reservoir,  or  by  run- 
ning a  distance  in  a  shallow  ditch  or  furrow,  before  reaching  the 
roots  of  the  plant.  No  temperature  gained  by  such  exposure  need 
be  considered  too  high. 

This  fact,  however,  has  sometimes  induced  too  great  expecta- 
tions from  the  use  of  hot  water  from  springs  or  wells  for  forcing 
early  vegetables.  Warm  air  is  essential  to  free  aerial  growth  of  the 
plant. 

HOW  MUCH  IRRIGATION  IS  NEEDED. 

It  is  impossible  to  answer  this  question  exactly  for  any  crop, 
but  it  can  be  approximated  more  nearly  for  an  orchard  or  vineyard 
or  a  field  crop  than  for  a  garden  which  should  be  held  up  to  its 
maximum  of  free  water  nearly  all  the  time.  Evidently  the  require- 
ment for  gardening  is  greater  than  for  any  other  cropping.  How 
much  water  will  be  required  to  hold  any  piece  of  land  up  to  its  best 
estate  of  moisture,  depends  upon  the  plant  grown,  the  soil  and  sub- 
soil, the  slope  and  exposure,  the  local  heat  and  dryness  of  the  air, 
the  rainfall,  etc.  The  quantity  can,  then,  only  be  determined  for 
each  piece  of  ground  with  the  data  of  its  conditions  and  environ- 


58  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

ment,  and  the  observing  man  will  allow  the  plants  to  tell  him  by 
their  vigor  and  speed  of  growth  how  the  supply  suits  them. 

It  is  possible  to  tell  how  much  water  will  bring  a  certain  depth 
of  soil  into  the  best  condition  for  growth  and  working.  With  this 
knowledge  the  gardener  can  more  rationally  follow  the  results  of 
his  observation  of  the  plants  themselves.  The  following  are  the 
conclusions  of  the  late  Professor  F.  H.  King  from  very  careful 
investigation  and  experiment: 

The  maximum  capacity  of  upland  field  soils  for  water  ranges  from  about 
eighteen  per  cent  of  their  dry  weight  for  the  light  sandy  types  to  about  thirty 
per  cent  for  the  heavy  clayey  varieties,  while  the  amounts  of  water  these 
soils  should  contain  in  order  that  plants  may  thrive  in  them  best  is  from 
twelve  to  fourteen  per  cent  for  the  former  and  from  eighteen  to  twenty  per 
cent  for  the  latter.  The  growth  of  plants  will  be  seriously  checked  in  sandy 
soils  when  the  water  content  falls  below  eight  per  cent,  and  in  heavy,  clayey 
types  when  it  falls  below  fourteen  per  cent  of  the  dry  weight  of  the  soil. 

The  dry  weight  of  a  light  sandy  soil  and  subsoil  will  average  about  one 
hundred  and  five  pounds  per  cubic  foot,  and  the  heavy  clayey  type  about 
eighty  pounds  per  cubic  foot.  Hence  the  maximum  amount  of  water  per 
cubic  foot  of  soil  would  be  about  twenty-four  pounds  for  the  clay  and  eighteen 
and  nine-tenths  pounds  for  the  sand.  This  being  true,  four  and  six-tenths 
inches  of  water  on  the  level  would  completely  saturate  the  surface  foot  of 
heavy  clay  soil,  were  it  entirely  dry  to  begin  with,  while  three  and  six-tenths 
inches  would  place  the  sandy  soil  in  a  similar  condition. 

But  since  water  should  be  applied  as  soon  as  the  water  content  of  the 
sandy  soil  falls  to  eight  per  cent  and  that  of  the  clayey  soil  to  fourteen  per 
cent,  it  follows  that  under  these  conditions  ten  and  five-tenths  pounds  of 
water,  or  two  inches,  is  the  maximum  amount  which  would  be  needed  to 
fill  the  surface  foot  of  sandy  soil  and  twelve  and  eight-tenths  pounds,  or  two 
and  forty-six  one-hundredths  inches,  is  enough  to  fill  the  surface  foot  of 
clay  soil. 

If  we  consider  the  second  foot  of  soil  to  have  been  dried  out  to  a  cor- 
responding extent,  and  that  it  is  desirable  to  saturate  this  with  water  also, 
then  the  amounts  just  stated  would  need  to  be  doubled,  four  inches  being 
demanded  for  the  sandy  soil  and  four  and  ninety-two  one-hundredths  inches 
for  the  clayey  soil.  It  is  quite  certain,  however,  that  such  an  application  of 
water  to  a  field  at  one  time  would  result  in  the  percolation  of  a  considerable 
amount  of  this  water  below  the  depth  of  root  action,  and  hence  in  a  con- 
siderable loss  of  it  unless  a  large  crop  were  growing  upon  the  land  at  the 
time.  It  appears,  therefore,  that  the  amounts  of  water  which  may  be  applied 
to  a  field  at  one  time  will  lie  between  two  and  five  inches  in  depth  over  its 
whole  surface. 

How  often  this  watering  may  need  to  be  repeated  it  is  not  possible  to 
state  in  anything  like  definite  terms,  but  practical  experience  shows  that  as 
a  rough  average  the  intervals  between  watering  where  maximum  yields  are 
sought  cannot  much  exceed  seven  to  fourteen  days,  the  time  being  shortest 
when  the  crop  is  making  its  most  vigorous  growth. 

This  account  is  useful  as  showing  how  much  the  soil  may  be 
expected  to  hold,  consequently  the  maximum  to  be  considered  in 
application.  The  times  of  repetition  naturally  have  to  be  indefinite 
because  rates  of  evaporation  and  leaching  are  so  variable.  If  the 
reader  should  get  the  idea  from  these  calculations  that  he  ought  to 
have  a  generous  water  supply  for  the  best  summer  growth  of  vege- 
tables, he  will  start  right  at  least.  He  will  soon  learn  how  to  use 
the  water  to  the  best  advantage. 


PLENTY  OF  WATER  DESIRABLE  59 

Adequate  Use  of  Water  Essential. — Beyond  any  theoretical 
computation  of  the  amount  of  water  needed  it  is  one  of  the  plainest 
teachings  of  California  experience  that  good,  thorough  soaking  of 
the  ground  is  the  secret  of  satisfactory  results.  Surface  sprinkling 
without  penetration  is  a  delusion  even  in  lawn  growing.  It  gives 
the  impression  of  moisture  when  the  roots  of  the  plant  may  be  fam- 
ishing in  dry  ground.  Pouring  on  water  from  a  watering  pot, 
though  it  be  once  every  day,  will  make  a  brick  to  enclose  the  plant 
stem  and  roots  if  the  soil  be  prone  to  bake.  On  larger  scale  work 
it  has  been  fully  demonstrated  that  for  productiveness  a  small  piece 
of  ground  thoroughly  soaked  with  water  and  then  as  thoroughly 
cultivated  on  the  surface  to  kill  weeds  and  prevent  the  waste  of 
moisture  into  the  air  by  evaporation,  is  preferable  to  twice  the  sur- 
face only  half  watered.  One  very  thorough  wetting,  with  good 
cultivation,  will  produce  better  results  than  several  superficial  water- 
ings. And  in  this  way  the  water  can  be  used  the  most  econom- 
ically by  accomplishing  the  most  good  with  the  least  labor. 

Another  very  important  point  is  to  keep  the  moisture  supply 
always  adequate.  One  who  waits  till  the  plants  show  distress  has 
lost  his  chance.  One  of  our  experienced  growers  very  pertinently 
says:  "If  we  allow  our  ground  to  get  the  least  bit  dry  the  vege- 
tables are  stunted  in  growth,  and  then  it  takes  several  days  to  catch 
up  again  if  it  ever  does.  I  hold  that  a  stunted  vegetable  is  as  bad 
as  a  stunted  calf  or  pig.  It  is  never  as  good  as  if  it  was  pushed 
right  along  from  the  beginning." 

Besides,  it  should  always  be  remembered  that  the  edible  plants 
we  call  "vegetables"  must  generally  be  crisp,  or  tender  in  tissue, 
and  juicy.  Both  qualities  are  promoted  by  quick  growth  and  quick 
growth  depends  upon  ample  soil  moisture.  And  yet  excessive  use 
of  water  must  be  guarded  against.  Professor  S.  S.  Rogers  truly 
says: 

Where  water  is  easy  to  obtain  the  tendency  of  many  growers  is  to  over- 
irrigate,  not  relying  upon  good  thorough  cultivation  for  retaining  the  moist- 
ure. Overirrigation  tends  to  produce  vegetables  of  more  or  less  inferior 
quality,  and  one  of  the  greatest  dangers  lies  in  the  packing  of  the  soil 
immediately  about  the  plants,  especially  where  the  soil  is  of  a  heavy  nature. 
It  is  better  to  irrigate  seldom  and  cultivate  often  and  thoroughly  than  to 
irrigate  frequently  and  cultivate  seldom. 

RELATION    OF   IRRIGATION    TO    SOIL    FERTILITY. 

And  it  must  also  be  borne  in  mind  that  adequate  moisture 
must  always  be  accompanied  by  adequate  supplies  of  plant  food  in 
the  soil.  The  gardener  who  keeps  his  soil  rich  gets  the  greatest 
return  from  the  water  he  uses,  and  attention  must  be  paid  to  the 
suggestions  in  the  chapter  on  Fertilization.  This  has  always  been 
demonstrated  by  experience,  and  an  interesting  measure  of  the  fact 
has  been  deduced  from  experimentation  by  Dr.  J.  A.  Widtsoe  of  the 
Utah  Agricultural  College.  He  shows  that  a  given  amount  of  moist- 


60  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

lire  will  produce  at  least  30  per  cent  more  crop  on  rich  soils  than  on 
poor  ones,  and  the  crop  grown  on  the  rich  soil  will  contain  at  least 
45  per  cent  more  food  value  than  that  grown  on  the  poor  one.  In 
other  words,  the  moisture  that  would  produce  100  pounds  of  crop 
on  a  poor  soil  would  produce  at  least  130  pounds  on  a  rich  soil,  and 
the  crop  raised  on  the  rich  soil  would  contain  on  an  average  45  per 
cent  more  protein,  which  would  still  further  increase  the  food  value 
of  the  crop  grown  on  the  rich  soil  to  the  equivalent  of  188  pounds 
grown  on  poor  soil;  almost  twice  as  much  food  value  on  the  rich 
soil  as  on  the  poor  one  from  the  same  amount  of  moisture.  Then 
again  the  rich  soil  will  hold  more  moisture,  and  if  there  is  plenty  of 
moisture  the  rich  soil  can  grow  two  or  three  times  as  much  crop  as 
the  poor  soil  and  with  a  food  value  that  is  higher. 


CHAPTER    VI. 
GARDEN  DRAINAGE   IN  CALIFORNIA. 

It  may  be  remarked,  as  a  generalization  based  upon  a  wide 
view  of  our  two-season  year,  that  the  secret  of  success  in  California 
vegetable  growing  consists  in  getting  plants  "out  of  the  wet"  at 
one  time  and  into  it  at  another.  It  would,  perhaps,  be  more  exact 
to  say  that  success  lies  in  securing  generous  but  not  excessive  moist- 
ure at  all  times,  and  this  is  essential  to  the  best  growth  of  the  plant 
in  any  climate.  And  yet  so  strikingly  antithetical  are  our  moisture- 
extremes  at  the  heights  of  the  two  seasons,  and  so  characteristic, 
both  in  times  and  methods,  are  the  policies  and  practices  by  which 
we  modify  both  to  the  best  advantage,  that  the  world-wide  princi- 
ples to  which  they  conform  are  out  of  sight  of  the  casual  observer. 
For  it  is  not  only  that  we  have  always  to  guard  against  extremes  of 
saturation  and  aridity  and  keep  the  plant  along  the  lines  of  suffi- 
ciency— that  is  the  universal  proposition.  In  addition  to  this  Cali- 
fornia, speaking  generally,  has  to  do  special  work  against  one  ex- 
treme at  one  time  and  against  the  other  extreme  at  another  time ; 
hence  the  opening  remark. 

Regulation  of  moisture  in  California  either  involves  more  con- 
siderations than  are  usually  recognized  in  humid  climates  or  in- 
volves them  in  higher  degree  and  imputes  to  them  increased  signifi- 
cance. Choice  of  location  and  soil ;  time  and  method  of  planting  and 
cultivation;  the  choice  of  the  crop  with  reference  to  natural  moist- 
ure supply  and  the  atmospheric  conditions ;  the  employment  of  irri- 
gation ;  and  the  desirability,  or  otherwise,  of  artificial  drainage  facili- 
ties— all  these  are  factors  which  are  perhaps  more  sharply  concerned 
in  results  here  than  in  humid  climates,  because  our  extremes,  in  all 
except  low  temperatures,  are  more  exacting.  Correct  practice  here 
gives  grand  results,  but  ill-timed  or  illy  adapted  practice  does  not 
give  merely  less  satisfactory  results:  it  may  invite  failure.  Our 
drainage  proposition  must  always  be  conditioned  upon  proper  con- 
servation of  moisture,  and  as  will  be  seen  as  we  proceed  with  the 
discussion,  contemplated  artificial  drainage  may  have  the  power  to 
make  or  ruin  a  crop  if  its  action  is  not  intelligently  employed,  or 
intelligently  rejected,  as  the  case  may  require. 

Benefits  of  Drainage. — It  may  be  admitted  at  the  outset  that 
in  regions  of  heavy  rainfall  or  in  locations  subject  to  much  percola- 
tion from  higher  lands,  underdrainage  may  be  necessary  to  satis- 
factory use  of  the  land  in  winter  gardening  unless  the  soil  is  deep 
and  free  enough  to  readily  dispose  of  the  surplus  water.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  is  necessary  in  some  cases,  and  gratifying  results 
follow  in  lowering  the  ground  water,  admitting  air,  warming  the 

[61] 


62  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

soil,  making  it  hospitable  to  the  plant,  rendering  fertility  available 
and  lengthening  the  growing  season  of  the  plant  both  by  these 
services  and  by  making  the  soil  sooner  amenable  to  tillage  and  sus- 
ceptible of  better  tilth.  All  these  are  general  drainage  principles 
applicable  here  as  elsewhere  and  in  some  soils  and  situations  the 
same  method  of  application  is  best,  viz. :  thorough  under-drainage 
preferably  with  tile,  but  also  attainable  with  trenches  partly  filled 
with  rock,  or  with  regular  runways  with  placed  stones  or  poles  or 
boards  or  whatever  may  be  most  available  to  the  person  at  the 
time.  In  drainage  for  garden  purposes,  however,  it  is  not  neces- 
sary that  the  water  table  should  be  lowered  as  far  as  is  essential 
to  the  satisfactory  growth  of  trees,  nor  is  it  desirable  generally  that 
it  should  be.  Tile  laid  two  feet  from  the  surface  will  answer  in 
many  cases  if  the  land  lies  well  for  the  outflow  of  the  drainage. 

Conserving  Moisture. — The  general  purpose  in  California  gar- 
dening must  be  to  save  moisture,  not  to  facilitate  its  escape.  It  is 
especially  important  in  an  arid  country  that  the  lower  strata  of  the 
soil  should  be  a  storage  reservoir  for  the  use  of  the  plant  in  the  dry 
season.  This  fact  underlies  the  recommendations  for  cultivation 
which  will  be  given  in  abater  chapter,  but  it  also  has  intimate  rela- 
tions with  the  subject  of  drainage.  Evidently  recourse  to  drainage 
should  not  endanger  the  generously  adequate  moisture  supply  which 
the  plant  needs,  and  for  this  reason  the  almost  universal  exhortation 
in  gardening  treatises  for  humid  climates :  "first  of  all  deeply  drain 
your  soil,"  either  subjects  the  trusting  Californian  to  a  useless  ex- 
pense or,  worse  than  that,  makes  his  land  less  suited  to  his  purpose 
than  it  was  before  the  expenditure  was  made. 

For  it  should  be  noted :  first,  that  our  light  deep  loams  which 
are  chiefly  used  for  garden  purposes,  can  naturally  dispose  of  all 
the  surplus  water  which  the  clouds  afford  them ;  second,  our  heavier 
soils  sometimes  make  a  great  surface  show  of  saturation  when  the 
lower  layers  have  really  far  less  than  their  holding  capacity,  because 
percolation  is  slow,  not  only  by  nature  of  the  soil  but  by  the  lack  of 
thorough  tillage  which  would  help  to  hold  a  large  precipitation 
until  the  soil  cold  absorb  it;  third,  our  soils  dispose  of  moisture 
very  rapidly  during  the  dry  intervals  of  the  rainy  season,  and  this 
can  be  increased  by  winter  cultivation  which  should  not  aim  to  fine 
the  surface  but  to  open  it  to  the  air ;  fourth,  by  their  active  winter 
growth,  the  plants  themselves  pump  from  the  surface  layer  volumes 
of  water,  the  escape  of  which  opens  the  way  for  capillarity  to  re- 
lieve lower  layers  of  their  surplus,  and  thus  the  active  roots  help  to 
prepare  the  way  for  their  own  further  extension. 

Really,  then,  what  California  soils  need  for  winter  garden  pur- 
poses in  natural  surface  drainage,  viz.,  downward  into  thirsty  lower 
layers;  upward  into  the  air  by  evaporation  from  earth-surfaces  or 
plant-surfaces.  Where  this  is  not  adequate  to  the  relief  of  surface 
saturation  and  consequent  preparation  for  seed  sowing,  very  simple 
artificial  surface  drainage  is  usually  effective.  This  can  be  mainly 


WHEN  DRAINAGE  IS  DESIRABLE  63 

accomplished  with  the  plow,  first  by  opening  drainage  furrows  at 
proper  intervals,  and  this  is  often  all  that  is  needed  to  dispose  of 
surplus  water  j  second,  by  ridging  with  the  plow  which  prepares 
long  seed  beds  a  little  above  the  general  surface  and  at  the  same 
time  leaves  channels  for  the  escape  of  the  water;  third,  by  opening 
deeper  surface-drains  to  act  directly  or  to  receive  and  speed  the 
departure  of  the  outflow  from  the  open  furrows.  All  of  these  forms 
of  treatment,  selected  according  to  the  degree  of  the  need  of  drain- 
age, have  proved  widely  satisfactory  and  have  facilitated  magnifi- 
cent winter  growth  of  vegetables  upon  heavy  adobe  soils  in  some 
of  our  regions  of  heaviest  winter  rains.  The  action  is  quicker  than 
underdraining  because  percolation  is  notably  slow  in  such  soil.  It 
removes  the  surplus  from  the  surface  just  at  the  time  its  absence 
is  most  desirable  and  it  leaves  the  moisture  stored  below  to  rise  as 
the  demand  for  it  advances.  On  the  other  hand  underdrainage, 
where  it  is  not  imperatively  demanded  by  exceptional  conditions,  has 
clearly  acted  too  slowly  to  bring  the  surface  speedily  into  satis- 
factory condition  and  has  acted  too  long  in  drawing  away  more 
water  than  desirable  from  below  and  has  +hen  continued  as  a  very 
effective  hot-air  system  for  further  drying  of  soil-substance  which 
should  have  retained  more  moisture  to  supply  the  plant  and  foster 
capillary  action  from  still  lower  layers.  In  the  writer's  own  ex- 
perience shallow-rooting  plants  have  dwindled  over  tile  lines  while 
those  midway  between  the  lines  were  growing  rapidly. 

Conditions  Determining  Recourse  to  Underdrainage. — It  may 
be  well  to  specify  a  few  of  the  conditions  which  should  determine 
whether  underdrainage  should  be  provided  in  land  under  considera- 
tion for  vegetable  growing.  Of  course  the  claim  already  alluded 
to,  that  any  piece  of  soil  selected  for  gardening  must  be  first  under- 
drained,  is  an  exaggeration  anywhere  in  the  world  probably,  because 
there  are  areas  of  naturally  well-drained  soil  everywhere.  Enough 
has  been  said  of  California  garden  soils  to  show  that  the  most  of 
them  are  of  this  character  and  that  no  probable  amount  of  rainfall 
would  injure  them.  The  exception  has  also  been  sufficiently  char- 
acterized in  the  chapter  on  soils. 

To  reach  assurance  for  or  against  underdrainage  in  particular 
cases  one  has  to  consider  the  soil,  the  rainfall,  the  character  of  the 
root  growth  to  be  ministered  to,  the  growing  season  of  the  crop  and 
the  practice  of  irrigation. 

The  mere  amount  of  rainfall  is  so  intimately  related  to  soil 
texture,  depth,  subsoil,  slope  and  exposure  that,  considered  alone, 
it  affords  no  guide  whatever  to  the  need  of  artificial  drainage. 
There  are  many  situations  receiving  an  annual  rainfall  of  forty  to 
sixty  inches  which  not  only  do  not  need  underdrainage  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  irrigation  must  be  employed  as  early  as  May  to  supply 
the  requirements  of  shallow-rooting  plants.  These  are  either  coarse 
leachy  soils  or  else  shallow  loams  lying  upon  sloping  and  porous 
bed-rock.  Leaving  these  out  of  consideration  it  is  doubtful  whether 


64  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

any  land,  even  of  quite  retentive  character,  receiving  a  rainfall  of 
not  more  than  twenty-five  inches,  distributed  as  California  rainfall 
usually  is,  needs  underdrainage  for  garden  purposes.  Of  course 
this  claim  clearly  presupposes  that  the  land  in  question  does  not 
receive  any  considerable  amount  of  water  by  overflow  or  underflow 
by  seepage  from  higher  land.  Any  such  rainfall  as  noted  can  prob- 
ably be  controlled  by  such  surface  use  or  surface  release  as  has 
already  been  described,  or  by  such  early  and  deep  cultivation  as  the 
garden  should  receive,  there  can  be  stored  in  the  soil  the  moderate 
residuum  remaining  from  the  amount  of  rainfall  indicated,  and 
under  favorable  circumstances  a  greater  rainfall  can  be  thus  dis- 
posed of. 

Deep  rooting  plants  like  fruit  trees  will,  of  course,  be  injured 
by  saturation  of  the  subsoil  which  would  not  injure  garden  vege- 
tables, therefore  underdrainage  of  the  orchard  is  a  different  propo- 
sition from  that  of  the  garden.  It  should  be  stated  for  the  distant 
reader  that  the  term  garden  in  California  is  not  understood  to  in- 
clude fruit  trees,  except  in  villages  or  suburban  places. 

The  growing  season  of  the  vegetable  crop  is  also  related  to 
the  matter  of  underdrainage.  While  the  winter  garden  on  a  re- 
tentive soil  in  a  region  of  quite  large  rainfall,  may  be  greatly  im- 
proved by  underdrainage,  the  summer  growth  of  the  same  plants 
perhaps,  and  of  field  crops  of  shallow  rooting  vegetables,  may  be 
benefited  by  such  surface  treatment  during  the  winter  as  shall  pro- 
mote the  absorption  and  retention  of  the  whole  rainfall  in  the  soil 
and  subsoil.  This  practice  may  insure  the  perfection  of  a  crop 
without  irrigation  which  could  not  be  grown  on  a  less  retentive  soil 
nor  on  one  currently  drained  of  its  surplus  water. 

The  practice  of  irrigation  may  create  a  need  for  underdrain- 
age which  may  not  exist  on  land  used  for  rainfall-gardening.  If 
the  soil  is  naturally  well  drained  this  need  will  not,  however,  occur 
unless  the  natural  escape  of  surplus  water  has  been  destroyed  by 
rise  of  the  bottom  water  which  has,  in  some  large  districts  in  Cali- 
fornia followed  excessive  irrigation,  and  the  seepage  of  water  from 
leaky  ditches.  Especially  unfortunate,  too,  has  it  been  that  this  rise 
of  the  ground  water  has  brought  within  reach  of  capillary  action 
and  surface  evaporation,  alkaline  salts  which  are  destructive  to  vege- 
tation. But  here  again  the  growth  of  vegetables  can  be  success- 
fully pursued  on  lands  with  water  too  near  the  surface  to  favor  fruit 
trees,  providing  the  rise  of  alkali  does  not  occur.  For  the  growth  of 
vegetables,  then,  it  is  not  generally  imperative  that  the  land  be  under- 
drained  even  if  irrigation  is  practiced  though  there  are  cases  of 
retentive  soils  in  which  this  is  desirable.  In  irrigation  in  a  humid 
climate  where  a  heavy  downfall  of  rain  may  immediately  follow  a 
saturation  by  irrigation,  underdrainage  is  a  safeguard.  California 
with  a  rainless  summer,  is  freed  from  this  danger. 

Too  great  emphasis,  even  to  indulgence  in  repetition,  can  hardly 
be  placed  upon  the  point  of  view  held  in  this  work.  We  are 


DRAINAGE.  OR  IRRIGATION  65 

dealing  for  the  most  part  with  plants  which  are  used  before  matur- 
ity and  in  which  large  free  growth  of  foliage,  stem  and  seed  vessel 
are  the  points  desired  and  not  mature  seed.  Most  of  these  plants 
are  also  shallow-rooted  and  are  concerned  in  the  lower  layers  of 
soil  not  as  a  place  for  root-activity,  but  rather  as  a  reservoir  of 
moisture  and  a  storehouse  of  plant  food  which  shall  come  to  them 
dissolved  in  the  upward  movement  of  abundant  water.  Conse- 
quently these  plants  do  not  require  the  degree  of  soil  dryness  which 
best  ministers  to  maturing  processes  nor  do  they  need  such  deep 
penetration  of  air  as  is  needed  to  make  subsoils  hospitable  for  deep- 
rooting  plants.  They  are  plants,  too,  which  need  the  maximum  per- 
centages of  moisture,  which  their  nature  demands,  to  secure  the 
quick  growth  and  succulence  which  makes  them  delicious  and  profit- 
able, as  already  stated  in  the  preceding  chapter.  For  all  these  rea- 
sons, the  view  of  underdrainage  here  presented  is  somewhat  at  vari- 
ance with  orthodox  drainage  tenets  held  in  humid  climates  and  is 
also  widely  diverse  from  views  which  the  writer  holds  with  refer- 
ence to  the  drainage  requirements  of  fruit  trees.  But  there  are,  of 
course,  some  situations  in  which  water  may  accumulate  to  satura- 
tion, rendering  the  soil  cold  and  water-logged.  In  such  cases  drain- 
age is  indispensable  for  early  planting  to  get  growth  well  started  or 
complete  in  the  rainy  season,  but  the  opposite  may  be  true  of  the 
same  situation  and  soil  if  desired  for  late  planting  and  growth  in 
the  dry  season. 


CHAPTER    VII. 
CULTIVATION. 

The  timely  and  thorough  performance  of  the  several  acts 
which,  in  accordance  with  the  prevailing  local  conditions,  constitute 
good  tillage,  are  indispensable  to  success  in  California  vegetable 
growing.  No  matter  how  favorable  the  natural  conditions  or  how 
generous  the  other  provisions  made  by  the  grower,  to  be  dilatory 
or  slack  in  cultivation  is  to  seriously  endanger,  if  not  to  actually 
forfeit,  the  final  reward. 

The  American  pioneers  were  quick  to  see  that  the  energetic 
use  of  the  good  tools  to  which  they  had  been  trained  in  their  old 
homes  would  bring  marvelous  production  from  lands  previously 
held  at  grazing  value,  and,  beginning  with  this  assurance,  they  pro- 
ceeded by  lessons  of  observation  and  experience  until  they  learned 
proper  times  and  ways  of  working  under  the  novel  natural  condi- 
tions which  surrounded  them.  They  also  accomplished  modifica- 
tions in  tools  for  tillage,  which,  from  a  local  point  of  view,  are 
notable  improvements,  and  they  devised  new  forms  to  meet  special 
conditions  or  purposes.  By  this  empirical  method  they  ministered 
to  their  own  success  and  incidentally  demonstrated  the  truth  of  some 
advanced  theories  of  tillage  which  had  won  but  slight  recognition 
from  the  conservative  spirit  of  the  older  countries.  It  is  an  inter- 
esting fact  also  that  prevailing  California  practice,  in  some  import- 
ant regards,  accords  more  closely  with  principles  deduced  from 
elaborate  experimentation  by  the  most  acute  and  patient  students 
of  soil  physics,  than  does  the  common  practice  of  older  countries. 
It  is  in  some  sense  a  grim  satisfaction  for  Californians  to  feel  that 
critics  who  have  denounced  some  California  tillage  practices  as 
slack  and  unthrifty,  not  only  do  not  know  our  conditions  but  are 
not  aware  that  their  own  practices  are  in  contravention  of  general 
principles  with  which  ours  closely  agree. 

With  tillage,  as  with  other  gardening  duties  to  which  refer- 
ence has  been  made,  there  are  in  California  wider  extremes  to  be 
mastered,  and  methods  are  therefore  strikingly  diverse.  Tillage 
prepares  the  seed  bed,  facilitates  germination  and  root-extension, 
and  fosters  the  benign  processes  of  soil  warmth  and  aeration,  here 
as  elsewhere.  It  also  holds  the  same  relation  to  soil-moisture  here 
as  elsewhere,  but  its  services  in  this  particular  are  more  conspicuous 
because  the  need  is  greater,  as  intimated  in  previous  chapter. 

The  common  California  conception  of  the  value  of  tillage  natu- 
rally seizes  upon  this  aspect  of  the  case  and  asserts  that  the  chief 
offices  of  soil  working  are  first  to  get  as  much  moisture  as  possible 
into  the  soil  and,  second,  to  keep  it  there.  The  efficacy  of  certain 
[66] 


TILLAGE  TO  RECEIVE  MOISTURE  67 

ways  and  times  of  tillage  to  assist  in  the  escape  of  surplus  moisture 
is,  of  course,  known  to  those  who  have  this  work  to  do,  but  the 
area  in  which  such  acts  are  called  for  is  comparatively  small.  It 
is  quite  important,  however,  that  the  vegetable  grower  should  have 
it  in  mind  and  it  will  be  mentioned  later. 

All  soil-stirring  should  be  undertaken,  as  nearly  as  possible, 
when  the  soil  is  in  best  condition  to  receive  it — that  is  when  it 
crumbles  best.  A  rough  determination  of  this  is  to  lift  a  spade  full 
to  an  adjacent  surface  and  strike  it  with  the  flat  of  the  spade.  If 
it  crumbles  well  it  is  in  working  condition.  In  the  case  of  raking 
or  cultivating  the  crumbling  of  surface  clods  indicates  similar  con- 
ditions. 

TILLAGE  TO  RECEIVE  MOISTURE. 

This  involves  both  time  and  method.  The  importance  of  early 
work  in  the  garden  has  been  incidentally  mentioned  and  will  be 
further  urged  hereafter.  With  the  rainfall-vegetable  grower,  early 
plowing  of  the  land,  or  early  digging  of  the  small  garden,  is  the 
first  of  a  series  of  timely  acts  which  are  neglected  at  great  peril. 

Summer  Fallow  as  Preparation  for  Vegetable  Planting. — The 
best  way  to  be  early  with  one  season  is  to  begin  in  the  previous  one, 
if  possible.  A  bare  but  frequently-stirred  summer  fallow  is  the  best 
preparation  for  a  garden.  A  piece  of  stubble  or  new  land  deeply 
plowed  and  subsoiled  and  left  unharrowed  in  the  fall  or  early  win- 
ter, cross-plowed  in  the  spring,  and  then  worked  with  a  cultivator 
once  a  month  during  the  dry  season,  is  brought  to  the  opening  of 
the  rainfall  garden  season  in  good  condition  from  at  least  three 
points  of  view :  first,  it  has  been  cleaned  of  many  weeds ;  second,  it 
has  been  improved  in  tilth  and  fertility  and,  third,  it  has  a  storage 
of  moisture  from  the  previous  season's  rainfall.  Such  a  piece  of 
land  can  be  deeply  plowed  at  the  opening  of  the  rainy  season,  and 
can  be  at  once  planted  with  vegetables  for  winter  use  which  are 
hardy  in  the  locality  and  will  carry  them  along  well  with  its  content 
of  stored  moisture,  even  if  there  be  very  little  rain  during  the  early 
fall  months.  Because  of  its  deeply  stirred  surface,  freedom  from 
hardpan  from  previous  cultivation,  and  moist  subsoil,  it  is  in  its  best 
absorptive  condition  and  by  subsequent  shallow  working  as  each 
vegetable  is  disposed  of,  rotation  or  succession  can  proceed  on  the 
same  ground  and  with  the  advancing  winter  and  its  added  rainfall, 
planting  of  less  hardy  vegetables  can  be  made  until  the  frost-free 
period  arrives  and  the  garden  will  go  out  into  the  spring  and  sum- 
mer growth  of  nearly  the  whole  list  of  hardy  and  tender  plants  with 
ample  moisture  to  carry  them  to  perfection  during  the  dry  season 
if  the  local  rainfall  is  adequate. 

Early  Beginning  for  Work  the  Same  Season. — But  it  is  not 
always  possible  to  give  the  year  of  rest  and  cleaning  and  moisture- 
saving,  desirable  as  it  is.  In  that  case  the  plowing  must  be  done 
dry  or  the  land  deeply  irrigated  before  plowing,  or  the  plowing 
deferred  until  the  rains  sufficiently  moisten  the  soil  for  deep  plow- 


68  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

ing.  This  last  method  usually  limits  the  practice  of  autumn  garden- 
ing and  emphasizes  the  desirability  of  a  water  supply  for  irrigation. 
Sub-soiling  may  also  be  done  with  advantage  if  the  rainfall  of  the 
region  is  generous;  if  not,  there  is  too  great  danger  that  much  of 
the  moisture  may  go  out  of  reach  of  the  shallow-rooting  plant.  It 
is  usually  not  as  safe  to  plant  as  early  on  newly  plowed  land  as 
upon  replowed  summer  fallow,  for,  unless  the  fall  rains  are  above 
the  average,  the  plants  may  be  less  thrifty  than  those  planted  later 
when  full  moisture  is  assured.  This  is,  of  course,  a  matter  for  local 
determination  as  it  is  conditioned  upon  local  rainfall.  It  should 
also  be  observed  that  in  plowing  for  early  fall  planting  the  land 
should  be  harrowed  immediately,  for  there  is  more  danger  of  losing 
moisture  by  evaporation  than  of  getting  too  much  from  the  early 
rains,  which  are  usually  light.  In  early  plowing  to  catch  winter 
rains  with  the  idea  of  planting  after  the  heaviest  rains  are  over, 
say  in  February,  the  early  plowing  may  be  left  rough  until  near 
planting  time. 

Even  if  for  any  reason  it  is  not  thought  desirable  to  plant  vege- 
tables in  the  open  air  until  February,  and  this  is  a  practice  in  locali- 
ties where  fall  and  early  winter  temperatures  are  rather  low,  still 
the  early  plowing  is  necessary  to  moisture-saving  and  cross-plowing 
should  follow  in  preparation  for  planting. 

Land  designed  for  spring  planting  of  tender  vegetables  should 
also  receive  early  and  thorough  fall  plowing  and  a  subsequent  winter 
plowing  or  spring  plowing  before  the  weed  growth  becomes  too 
heavy  for  turning  under  or  so  coarse  that  plowing  under  will  make 
a  non-retentive  soil  still,  more  prone  to  drying  out  the  following 
summer. 

TILLAGE   TO    CONSERVE    MOISTURE. 

Tillage  to  receive  moisture  is  designed  to  open  the  soil  and  to 
assist  percolation  to  prevent  surface  run-off  and  to  absorb  the  rain- 
fall. Tillage  to  save  moisture  aims  to  reduce  evaporation  to  a 
minimum.  In  a  firm  soil  moisture  rises  by  capillary  attraction  and 
is  rapidly  removed  from  the  surface  by  evaporation.  A  light  soil 
has  less  capillarity,  or  ability  to  draw  moisture  from  below,  than 
a  heavy  one.  A  sandy  soil  has  less  than  a  clay,  but  both  lose  water 
by  surface  evaporation  until,  in  an  arid  climate,  plants  will  die  of 
thirst  unless  they  be  by  nature  drought  resisting.  Garden  vege- 
tables are  not  of  that  character;  in  fact  quite  the  reverse.  Conse- 
quently some  means  must  be  adopted  to  prevent  the  moisture  which 
is  rising  in  the  soil  from  reaching  contact  with  the  outer  air.  This 
can  be  done  by  placing  a  covering  upon  the  compact  portion  of 
the  soil  so  that  the  air  shall  not  have  free  access  to  it.  Covering 
with  a  sufficient  amount  of  almost  any  coarse  material,  such  as  is 
commonly  known  as  a  mulch,  will  answer.  But  the  use  of  coarse 
manure  or  rotten  straw  or  sawdust  or  anything  of  that  sort,  is 


TILLAGE  TO   SAVE   MOISTURE  69 

troublesome  and  expensive  and  otherwise  objectionable,  although 
it  has  an  acknowledged  place  in  garden  practice,  as  will  be  shown 
later. 

The  Earth  Mulch. — California  practice  has  made  the  widest 
application  of  the  truth  that  a  finely  pulverized  surface  layer  of 
sufficient  depth  is  an  effective  mulch.  Pulverizing  the  soil  widens 
the  distance  between  its  particles  and  consequently  destroys  its 
capillarity  until  by  the  action  of  moisture,  either  in  the  form  of 
liquid  or  vapor,  it  becomes  again  compacted  to  a  degree  which  re- 
stores its  power  to  transmit  moisture.  The  cultivator  has  it,  then, 
within  his  power  to  spread  a  mulch  and  check  evaporation  simply 
by  fine  and  frequent  pulverization  of  the  surface  layer  by  cultivation. 
It  is  this  ability  which  enables  the  California  horticulturist  to  trans- 
form the  lower  layers  of  his  soil  into  a  reservoir,  and  to  profit  by 
the  natural  tendency  of  the  moisture  to  rise  in  the  compact  soil  until 
it  reaches  the  point  where  the  pulverized  layer  checks  its  advance. 
This  practice  makes  possible  an  achievement  which  seems  almost 
incredible  to  workers  in  humid  climates,  viz.:  the  growing  of  a 
succulent  crop  from  seeding  to  harvest  without  the  use  of  a  drop 
of  water  either  by  rain  or  irrigation,  and  it  is  this  practice,  coupled 
with  the  deeper  rooting  habit  of  plants  which  is  induced  by  it,  which 
enables  our  trees  and  field  crops  to  grow  thriftily  and  produce 
heavily  during  months  of  drought,  while  a  few  weeks  of  drought 
may  bring  distress  to  plants  in  humid  climates. 

But  the  pulverized  surface  layer  must  do  more  than  arrest  the 
capillary  rise  of  moisture  before  it  reaches  the  surface :  it  must  check 
it  at  a  point  out  of  reach  of  the  free  entrance  of  air  through  the 
loose  layer,  consequently  the  degree  of  pulverization  and  the  depth 
of  the  loose  layer  are  factors  to  be  carefully  observed.  It  is  not 
enough  to  grind  an  inch  or  two  of  the  surface  to  powder.  The  free 
movement  of  air  through  this  shallow  layer,  at  least  in  our  summer 
air  with  its  exceptional  thirst,  will  proceed  with  evaporation  from 
the  too  thinly  covered  compact  portion  and  the  loss  of  moisture  will 
be  onlv  a  little  less  rapid  and  complete  than  if  the  surface  had  not 
been  disturbed  at  all.  The  same  thing  will  happen  if  the  surface 
layer  be  only  coarsely  broken  to  a  still  greater  depth :  the  passage  of 
air  through  the  clods  will  be  free  enough  to  draw  off  the  moisture 
and  the  soil  will  dry  out  to  a  degree  which  will  bring  distress  to 
plants  which  good  cultivation  would  have  maintained  in  vigorous 
growth.  It  is  plain,  then,  that  the  earth  mulch  must  be  fine  enough 
and  deep  enough  to  serve  its  intended  purpose  and  for  this  no  arbi- 
trary rule  can  be  laid  down  except  that  the  coarser  the  soil  by  nature, 
or  the  coarser  the  particles  by  cultivation,  the  deeper  the  mulch 
must  be.  The  practical  test  is  easy ;  if  the  pulverized  layer  becomes 
dry  and  if  on  brushing  it  aside  with  the  foot,  the  earth  below  is 
hard  and  more  or  less  dry  also,  the  mulch  is  not  effective  and  its 
character  must  be  improved. 


70  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Steps  by  Which  Conservation  is  Attained. — The  foundation  for 
a  satisfactory  moisture-conserving  tilth  is  laid  with  the  plow  during 
the  fall  or  winter  preceding  the  summer  during  which  it  is  to  be 
maintained.  Though  plowing  has  been  considered  as  a  factor  in 
opening  the  soil  to  receive  and  store  moisture ;  it  is  also  considered 
in  its  conservation.  To  do  this  the  plow  must  be  used  when  the  soil 
is  in  the  best  condition  not  only  for  turning  but  for  disintegrating 
by  the  crushing  action  of  the  moldboard  so  that  the  soil  particles 
shall  lie  closely  upon  the  firm  portion  and  not  form  large  air  spaces 
which  minister  to  drying  out.  Plowing  when  the  soil  is  unfit  results 
in  clods,  which  are  every  way  hateful  in  the  garden,  and  in  air 
spaces,  which  are  objectionable,  as  shown.  Even  when  the  soil  is  in 
reasonably  good  condition,  late  plowing,  if  left  rough  and  open  to 
dry  winds,  will  form  clods  in  all  except  the  loosest  soils,  conse- 
quently all  late  plowing  should  be  at  once  well  harrowed. 

The  next  step  in  the  assurance  of  a  good  earth  mulch  is  the 
early  use  of  the  cultivator.  It  will  not  do  to  allow  the  harrowed 
soil  to  crust  by  rains  and  then  trust  to  some  later  rain  to  loosen  and 
rescue  the  young  plants  from  its  embrace.  Just  as  soon  as  the  soil 
arrives  in  condition  after  a  rain,  stir  the  surface  well  and  the  crust 
will  not  be  formed,  and  this  must  be  done  just  as  often  as  crust- 
forming  conditions  recur.  In  this  way  the  soil  surface  is  constantly 
kept  in  good  absorbing  condition  and  is  also  carried  on  its  way  to 
the  best  conserving  condition  as  well.  Weed  growth,  which  is 
moisture  wasting,  is  also  prevented. 

Then  comes  the  summer  cultivation  to  retain  such  an  earth- 
mulch  as  has  been  described.  If  it  proceeds  upon  previous  good 
work  in  clod  and  crust  preventing,  the  vegetable  grower  is  fortunate. 
If  not,  he  must  have  recourse  to  whatever  implements  for  clod 
crushing,  cutting,  chopping  and  grinding,  work  best  in  his  soil,  for, 
as  there  can  be  no  best  plow  for  all  soils,  so  also  there  can  be  no  best 
cultivator.  The  grower  must  learn  to  recognize  the  condition  which 
he  wishes  to  attain  and  then  experiment  with  tools  until  he  finds  the 
best  for  his  soil.  Summer  cultivation  means  cultivation  all  summer, 
or  at  least  as  long  as  growths  are  still  progressing.  To  reduce  to 
good  tilth  in  the  spring  and  then  "lay  by"  the  garden  or  else  to  count 
upon  later  cultivation  only  in  the  case  of  later  rains,  is  not  adequate 
cultivation  for  moisture  conservation.  The  earth  mulch  will  have 
its  capillarity  restored  by  its  own  absorption  of  moisture  from  below 
or  from  the  air,  and  it  will  lose  its  efficiency  as  a  protecting  cover 
even  though  no  rain  falls.  Therefore  frequent  stirring  to  ade- 
quate depth  but  without  soil-turning  must  be  maintained  at  intervals 
both  to  restore  the  mulch  and  to  destroy  weeds  which  may  start  late 
and  pump  moisture  away  from  the  plants  in  almost  incredible 
amount.  Remember,  though  no  crust  forms  and  no  weeds  start,  the 
cultivator  must  frequently  restore  the  surface  layer  to  its  condition 
as  an  efficient  mulch  if  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  moisture  is 
to  be  conserved. 


THE  WAY  TO  HOE  IN. CALIFORNIA  71 

CULTIVATION    IN    SMALL   GARDENS. 

Work  with  spading-fork,  hoe  and  rake  in  the  hand-made  garden 
is  subject  to  exactly  the  same  requirements  as  those  described  for 
the  horse-power  garden  or  vegetable  field.  Early  and  deep  digging 
for  moisture  reception  and  storage,  as  well  as  to  welcome  root- 
penetration,  must  be  followed  by  coarse  raking  to  maintain  a  sur- 
face fit  for  absorption  and  not  favorable  to  crusting  while  the  rainy 
season  advances,  and  after  the  rains  have  ceased,  there  must  be 
frequent  deep  hoeing  and  fine  raking  to  maintain  the  earth-mulch 
which  has  already  been  characterized. 

The  Man  with  the  Hoe. — The  use  of  the  hoe  at  different  sea- 
sons in  the  California  garden  and  the  contrast  between  summer 
hoeing  as  practiced  in  arid  and  humid  climates  is  so  strikingly  illus- 
trative of  the  sort  of  tillage  which  gives  in  California  rank  summer 
growth  without  rain,  that  a  few  comments  will  be  indulged  in. 

The  first  and  most  obvious  reflection  which  comes  to  one  who 
does  summer  hoeing  in  an  arid  land  is  that  the  handling  of  the  hoe 
which  he  practiced  in  his  boyhood  in  eastern  garden  or  cornfield  is 
not  the  hoeing  which  avails  most  now  and  here.  The  light,  shallow 
stroke,  which  fell  just  below  the  root  crown  of  the  weed,  stirred  the 
immediate  surface  a  little  and  left  the  field  clean,  used  to  be  the 
touch  for  eastern  hoeing,  and  a  man  could  almost  do  it  at  walking 
speed  for  hours  upon  hours.  Except  a  little  extra  deep  work,  which 
was  called  for  when  the  occasional  short  droughts  threatened,  this 
shallow  weed-cutting  was  sufficient  to  give  the  crop  the  upper  hand 
in  the  struggle  with  weeds,  and  the  frequent  showers  kept  the  sur- 
face moist  enough  to  prevent  baking. 

It  is  to  be  inferred  from  recent  reports  that  there  is  less  shallow 
hoeing  done  now  than  a  generation  ago  at  the  east,  and  deeper  sum- 
mer cultivation  has  been  found  profitable  there.  However  this  may 
be,  it  is  clear  that  shallow  hoeing  is  a  delusion  and  a  snare  in  this 
country.  Practice  it  through  the  spring  and  as  long  as  the  weeds 
start,  and  your  garden  surface  will  be  dusty.  Think  then  con- 
tentedly about  what  you  have  heard  of  a  mulch  of  dust-retaining 
moisture.  Can  it  be  possible,  instead  of  shooting  upward,  the  plant 
just  holds  its  own  and  then  goes  backward,  wilting,  yellowing  its 
leaves,  and  all  but  dying  in  its  distress?  Surely  there  must  be  a 
worm  at  the  root.  The  hoe  is  seized  and  brought  down  upon  the 
soil  at  an  angle  and  with  a  force  it  has  not  known  all  summer.  How 
the  dust  flies  from  the  surface,  and  how  the  hoe  flies  from  the  hard- 
pan  just  beneath  the  dust  as  though  it  had  been  brought  down  upon 
a  marble  slab.  Then  there  come  to  mind  thoughts  on  hoeing  which 
never  came  before.  Then  it  becomes  plain  that  the  shallow  weed- 
cutting  stroke  is  not  the  dash  of  the  hoe  which  saves  the  plant. 

One  who  goes  through  this  experience  once  will  know  better 
how  to  hoe  next  time.  He  will  see  that  by  sharp,  deep  strokes, 
often  using  the  corners  of  the  blade,  he  will  maintain  a  loose  layer 
upon  the  surface  which  will  be  thick  enough  to  prevent  direct 


72  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

evaporation  from  a  hard-pan  layer  and  thus  to  break  the  connection 
between  capillary  action  and  the  atmosphere.  Such  hoeing  is  harder 
than  light  work  with  the  blade  nearly  horizontal.  It  takes  muscle 
to  give  a  strong  vertical  stroke  which  penetrates  well,  and  one  can- 
not waltz  along  the  rows  whistling  a  lively  tune,  as  is  quite  possible 
while  weed-cutting  in  moist  soil  in  February. 

There  is  little  grace,  we  admit,  in  the  attitude  of  the  Italian 
market  gardener,  as  he  straddles  the  row,  arches  his  back  and  grunts 
as  he  sends  his  heavy  mattock  its  full  depth  into  the  soil  around  the 
plants.  The  American  with  his  fine,  new,  full-width,  bronze-shanked, 
green-labeled,  steel  hoe,  marching  along  the  rows,  touching  the  soil 
with  disdain  as  ill  worth  exertion  on  his  part,  is  a  much  handsomer 
picture.  But  the  Italian's  plants  laugh  at  drought.  When  irrigated 
the  soil  takes  water  like  a  sponge  and  it  goes  plump  down  to  the 
roots  of  the  plant.  Irrigate  the  shallow-hoed  plat ;  a  pailful  will  run 
a  rod  and  the  plant  root  gets  but  the  gurgle  of  the  water  as  it  flows 
along  the  surface  of  the  hard-pan  just  beneath  the  dust. 

Evidently,  if  one  begins  early  in  the  season  with  deep  hoeing, 
the  midsummer  tussle  with  hard-pan  will  be  obviated.  This  is 
really  the  lesson  to  be  learned. 

A  Straw  Mulch. — In  some  cases  a  mulch  of  rotten  straw,  old 
leaves,  etc.,  may  be  substituted  for  the  earth  mulch  produced  by 
tillage.  It  covers  the  surface  from  direct  contact  with  drying  sun- 
shine and  air  and  retains  moisture  within  reach  of  shallow  roots. 
Such  material  is  usually  put  in  place  after  the  plants  are  up  and  high 
enough  to  have  their  tops  in  the  light  while  the  litter  shades  the 
ground  and  the  lower  parts  of  the  stems.  This  saves  hoeing  and 
conserves  moisture  and  many  growers  strongly  favor  such  a  mulch 
for  tall  growing  plants.  In  the  case  of  potatoes  it  is  quite  possible 
to  place  the  mulch  right  after  planting,  for  the  shoots  readily  find 
their  way  through  several  inches  of  light  coarse  stuff,  while  many 
weeds  will  be  repressed  by  it.  Water  may  be  applied  by  sprinkling 
on  top  of  the  mulch. 

CULTIVATION    AND    IRRIGATION. 

All  that  has  been  said  about  the  relations  of  tillage  to  reception 
and  conservation  of  moisture  from  rainfall  is  of  equal  truth  as 
related  to  moisture  derived  from  irrigation.  Soils  not  readily  ab- 
sorptive must  be  opened  by  proper  tillage  to  receive  the  waterflow. 
Such  is  the  service  rendered  by  the  furrow  system  in  addition  to  its 
furnishing  channels  for  the  flow.  Soils  naturally  open  will  take 
water  as  well,  and  sometimes  better,  by  other  methods,  as  has  already 
been  explained.  But  by  whatever  means  water  is  brought  to  the 
soil  the  conservation  of  the  water  depends  largely  upon  the  pre- 
vention of  surface  evaporation  which  not  only  releases  moisture 
but  turns  the  upper  soil  into  a  pavement  which  is  fatal  to  shallow- 
rooting  plants.  Therefore  let  the  plow  follow  the  irrigation,  if  it  is 
fall  or  winter  irrigation  for  the  preparation  of  a  seed  bed,  and  let 


GETTING  PLANTS  OUT  OF  THE  WET  73 

the  cultivator  do  its  work  finely  and  to  sufficient  depth  if  it  is  sum- 
mer irrigation  for  advanced  plant  growth.  Do  not  let  the  irrigated 
land  lie  until  it  yields  clods  to  the  cultivator.  Seize  it  soon,  as  good 
tilth  waits  on  stirring;  "and  when  'tis  done  then  'twere  well  it  were 
done  quickly." 

But  soil  stirring  after  irrigation  is  also  the  surety  of  effective 
irrigation.  "The  first  thing  when  flood  water  leaves  silt  here  in 
Coachella  valley  is  to  flop  the  silt  under  as  soon  as  you  can  get  on 
the  land,"  says  Bruce  Drummond  of  the  Indio  Experiment  Station. 
"If  you  don't,  it  seals  your  soil  up  and  your  irrigation  water  doesn't 
get  through  it.  I  am  kept  on  the  go  most  of  the  time  to  answer 
questions  of  people  who  want  to  know  what  is  wrong  with  their 
trees,  truck,  etc.  In  many  cases  I  can  take  a  shovel  and  show  them 
that  they  are  not  getting  water  down  to  the  roots." 

RIDGES,    HILLS,    RAISED    BEDS    AND    LEVEL    CULTURE. 

Though  the  considerations  suggested  by  these  words  are  in- 
volved in  irrigation  and  drainage,  they  are  commonly  regarded  as 
phases  of  cultivation.  It  is  almost  obvious  that  all  methods  of 
lifting  the  plant  bed  above  the  common  surface  are  equivalent  to 
providing  it  with  the  fullest  facilities  for  surface  drainage.  When- 
ever, then,  ridging  or  hilling  or  raising  whole  garden  beds  is  prac- 
ticed without  connection  with  irrigation  upon  the  elevated  surface, 
it  affords  exceptional  means  for  the  escape  of  surplus  water  and 
relief  to  the  plant  from  saturated  soil.  By  this  act  the  winter  growth 
of  vegetables,  hardy  enough  to  withstand  the  local  climate,  can  be 
carried  on  in  the  most  retentive  soil  under  a  very  heavy  rainfall. 

Ridging. — It  matters  not  whether  this  ridging  is  done  very 
quickly  with  the  plow  by  back  furrowing  or  whether  a  raised  bed 
is  made  in  the  small  garden  with  a  retaining  border,  the  principle 
is  the  same  and  it  is  a  very  useful  one.  It  affords  a  ready  answer 
to  the  requirement  which  exists  in  many  parts  of  California  for 
facilitating  winter  growth  by  drainage  without  at  the  same  time 
endangering  too  great  loss  of  water  for  summer  cropping.  The 
back  furrow  gives  the  plants  a  greater  depth  of  stirred  soil,  which  is 
especially  valuable  in  the  rainy  season.  After  the  early  crop  of 
hardy  vegetables  is  disposed  of  there  will  still  be  time  to  plow  down 
the  ridges  and  put  the  soil  in  receptive  shape  for  the  late  winter  or 
spring  rains,  cultivating  being  done  later  to  retain  moisture  until 
the  frost-free  period  arrives,  when  the  same  land  will  take  its  sum- 
mer crop  of  tender  vegetables  with  or  without  irrigation  as  the 
character  of  the  soil,  the  proposed  growth  and  the  local  rainfall 
shall  require. 

Raised  Beds. — A  more  elaborate  application  of  the  same  prin- 
ciples consist  in  the  raised  beds,  which  are  very  useful  for  winter 
growth  in  the  small  garden  and,  in  combination  with  irrigation  by 
seepage  as  already  described  in  the  chapter  on  that  subject,  afford 


74  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

a  means  for  applying  water  or  escaping  from  it  as  the  conditions  at 
any  time  shall  dictate. 

Another  form  is  the  permanent,  bordered,  raised  bed  of  the 
kitchen  garden,  which  is  very  serviceable  either  in  farm  or  village 
growth  of  home  supplies  by  hand  work,  both  in  cultivation  and 
sprinkling.  This  is  the  method  by  which  the  late  Ira  W.  Adams,  of 
Potter  valley,  one  of  our  most  resourceful  vegetable  growers,  ap- 
plied the  principle  on  a  small  scale: 

I  made  my  beds  four  feet  wide  and  any  length  desired.  As  my  land  is 
little  on  the  adobe  order  I  put  on  three  or  four  inches  of  fine  creek  sand 
and  a  very  heavy  dressing  of  thoroughly  decomposed  mixture  of  cow,  horse, 
pig  and  hen  manure.  My  beds  are  twenty  feet  long  and  I  confine  the  soil 
in  them  by  laying  a  round  spruce  pole  on  each  side,  said  pole  being  about 
six  inches  in  diameter  at  one  end  and  five  at  the  other;  a  little  larger  or 
smaller  will  answer.  By  driving  a  small  stake  at  each  end  of  these  poles 
and  one  in  the  middle,  and  fastening  them  to  the  pole  by  a  single  nail  in 
each  stake,  a  great  saving  of  space  is  made  on  the  edges  of  the  beds,  as 
without  some  protection  the  heavy  rains  wash  the  edges  of  the  beds  very 
badly. 

A  few  days  before  sowing  the  seed,  in  September,  I  water  the  bed  very 
thoroughly  until  the  soil  is  thoroughly  saturated  to  the  depth  of  eight  or  ten 
inches.  Leave  it  until  it  is  in  just  the  right  condition  to  work.  Then  incor- 
porate the  sand  and  manure  into  the  bed  in  the  best  possible  manner  by 
vigorous  use  of  a  six-tined  hoe  fork  with  round  steel  teeth  about  one-fourth 
of  an  inch  in  diameter  and  eight  inches  long.  This  thorough  work,  with 
the  addition  of  the  sand  and  manure,  leaves  my  beds  about  eight  inches 
above  the  general  level  of  the  land,  and  between  each  bed  I  leave  a  walk 
fourteen  inches  wide. 

Some  may  say  it  is  a  great  deal  of  trouble  to  prepare  such  beds. 
Granted;  but  when  the  beds  are  once  carefully  made  they  are  fit  for  imme- 
diate use  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  and  for  many  years  to  come,  not  only 
for  onions,  but  for  early  lettuce,  radishes,  turnips,  table  beets,  dwarf  peas, 
etc.,  that  require  a  light,  rich,  and  well-drained  soil.  An  application  of  a 
little  liquid  hen  manure  occasionally  is  very  beneficial,  and  is  all  the  fertiliz- 
ing the  beds  will  need  for  many  years. 

This  shows  small-scale,  intensive  work.  With  such  beds  it  is 
possible  to  have  vegetables  in  edible  condition,  before  it  would  be 
wise  to  sow  seeds  of  the  same  kinds  in  open  ground  in  the  same 
locality. 

Hilling. — Hilling  of  plants  to  afford  soil-room  for  growth 
started  from  shallow  planting  is  another  means  of  attaining  drain- 
age and  soil  warmth  during  the  winter  season.  It  is  the  ridge  prin- 
ciple applied  in  spots  and  with  vastly  greater  labor.  If  one  has  a 
fancy  for  it  he  can  indulge  in  it  in  a  hand-made  winter  garden,  but 
otherwise  there  is  nothing  to  be  said  for  it. 

Flat  Culture. — All  references  to  systems  which  lift  the  plant- 
bed  above  the  common  surface  should  be  accompanied  by  the  clear 
declaration,  that  except  as  associated  with  the  distribution  of  irriga- 
tion water,  they  are  a  delusion  and  a  snare  if  carried  into  summer 
work.  The  very  release  of  water  which  fits  them  for  winter  use 
unfits  them  for  the  dry  summer.  Level  culture  is  the  broad  basis 
upon  which  summer  conservation  of  moisture  rests.  The  plant  root 


DRYING  LAND  BY  TILLAGE  75 

should  neither  be  lifted  into  the  air  nor  should  the  soil  be  opened 
so  that  the  air  is  allowed  to  freely  descend  to  the  plant  roots.  Soil 
and  air  assume  proper  relations  when  the  culture  is  flat  and  fine 
and  sufficiently  deep. 

Tillage  to  Release  Excessive  Moisture. — The  occasion  for  this 
course,  except  in  stated  winter  practice  already  described,  rarely 
occurs  in  California  except  on  lowlands  in  regions  of  ample  rainfall, 
though  sometimes  a  large  precipitation  in  a  short  time  may  too 
long  delay  planting  until  the  surplus  is  disposed  of.  Plowing  with 
rather  a  long  slope  of  moldboard,  which  turns  furrows  without 
crushing  and  laps  them  well,  leaves  air  spaces  at  the  bottom  of  the 
furrow-slice  and  aids  greatly  in  drying  the  soil.  Sub-soiling  also 
allows  water  to  percolate  and  air  to  enter  freely.  These  are,  how- 
ever, heroic  treatments  and  if  employed  late  in  the  rainy  season  are 
apt  to  give  the  lower  layers  of  the  soil  opportunity  to  dry  beyond 
desirable  moisture  retention.  If  only  a  slight  surface  drying  is 
necessary  a  narrow-toothed  harrow  or  cutting  discs  with  slight 
lateral  pressure  will  accomplish  it. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 
FERTILIZATION. 

In  the  chapter  on  soils  there  has  been  given  a  glance  at  the 
leading  characteristics  of  California  soils,  including  their  endow- 
ment of  available  plant  food.  This  natural  fertility  is  the  explana- 
tion of  the  fact  that  in  this  state  up  to  this  time  the  question  of  fer- 
tilization has  been  of  minor  importance.  The  securing  and  husband- 
ing of  adequate  moisture  constitute  the  key  by  which  native  fertility 
is  unlocked  and  so  long  as  this  resource  permits  the  gathering  of 
large  crops  of  superior  vegetable  products  without  expenditure  for 
fertilizers  it  is  obvious  that  we  shall  have  the  art  of  fertilizing  under 
our  climatic  conditions  still  to  learn.  We  have,  however,  already 
entered  upon  large  expenditure  for  fertilizers  for  fruit  trees,  es- 
pecially those  of  the  citrus  family,  and  the  world-wide  problem  of 
economical  plant-feeding  will  reach  all  our  producers,  sooner  or 
later,  as  each  has  the  hungrier  plants  or  the  thinner  soils.  The  old 
misconception  of  the  pioneers  that  California  climate  and  soil  had 
some  sort  of  beneficent  inter-relation  and  inter-action  which  in- 
sured perpetual  fertility,  was  merely  a  phase  of  the  perpetual  motion 
vagary,  as  applied  to  agriculture.  It  was  a  sort  of  reaction  from  the 
older  view  that  California  soil  would  produce  nothing  but  winter 
pasture.  Of  course  all  these  early  notions  have  passed  away.  It  is 
only  a  question  of  time  when  soil-building  will  be  a  regular  Cali- 
fornia effort  but  on  some  lands,  and  for  some  crops,  it  may  be  a 
very  long  time  before  the  problem  will  be  pressing. 

And  yet  it  would  not  be  truthful  to  convey  the  impression  that 
fertilization  is  not  undertaken  at  the  present  time.  Reports  made 
under  the  California  Fertilizer  law  indicate  sales  of  over  36,000 
tons  during  the  year  ending  June  30,  1917.  There  has  been  great 
progress  during  recent  years  in  the  utilization  of  natural  manurial 
supplies  which  were  formerly  allowed  to  go  to  waste.  The  demand 
from  orchardists  has  induced  systematic  search  and  traffic,  and  old 
accumulations  from  the  stock  farming  of  our  first  thirty  or  forty 
years  have  been  put  to  good  use,  together  with  a  considerable  amount 
of  artificial  fertilizers.  There  is  also  a  constant  demand  for  the 
wastes  of  our  towns  and  cities  for  gardening  purposes.  Our  mar- 
ket gardeners  have  zeal  for  collecting  the  cleanings  of  city  stables 
and  our  amateur  gardeners,  both  in  villages  and  on  farms,  make,  as 
a  rule,  good  use  of  the  animal  wastes  which  are  available.  They 
understand  the  advantage  of  intensive  work  and  of  bringing  small 
areas  up  to  maximum  production,  and  they  know  that  to  raise  large 
garden  crops  one  must  apply  manure  without  stint,  but  our  field 
production  of  staple  vegetables  is  not  intensive  as  yet,  except  as 
[76] 


VALUES  OF  BARNYARD  MANURES 

intensity  is  included  in  natural  fertility.  This  being  the  case,  the 
writer  does  not  undertake  prophecy.  In  a  few  years  the  progressive 
work  which  is  now  under  way,  especially  in  southern  California,  in 
trial  of  artificial  manures  for  vegetable  growing,  will  furnish  object 
lessons  for  general  guidance.  Present  purposes  will  be  best  served 
by  offering  suggestions  as  to  the  ways  to  turn  natural  supplies  to 
best  account. 

Comparative  Value  of  Animal  Manures. — The  excrements  of 
different  animals  serve  somewhat  different  purposes  in  garden 
practice  because  they  act  more  or  less  quickly  and  are  more  or  less 
stimulating  to  the  plant.  There  is  also  warrant  in  carrying  with 
the  word  stimulating  the  inference  that  in  feeding  plants,  as  in 
treating  animals,  that  which  is  most  stimulating  must  be  used  with 
the  greatest  caution.  Both  caution  and  economy  prescribe  that  the 
manure  which  has  the  highest  content  of  plant  food  should  be  used 
in  less  amount  and  more  carefully  distributed  through  the  area  of 
soil  which  the  roots  of  the  plant  are  expected  to  traverse. 

The  excrements  of  animals  depend  in  composition  upon  the 
abundance  and  richness  of  the  food  furnished  them.  The  follow- 
ing table  is  compiled  from  experiments  and  analyses  made  at  Cor- 
nell University,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  stock  was  well  fed. 

COMPOSITION    AND  VALUE   OF   FRESH    MANURE   FROM    DIFFERENT 

ANIMALS. 

Nitrogen,  Potash,  Phosphoric  Acid  Value  per 

Animals.  Per  cent.  Per  cent.  Per  cent.  Ton. 

Cows  0.50  0.29  0.45  2.37 

Horses  0.47  0.94  0.39  2.79 

Sheep  1.00  1.21  0.08  4.19 

Swine  0.83  0.61  0.04  3.18 

Hens  1.10  0.29  0.47  4.22 

The  value  is  figured  at  the  price  agreed  upon  by  eastern  chem- 
ists as  fair  value  for  the  ingredients  as  used  in  artificial  fertilizers. 

Value  per  ton  is  also  conditioned  upon  the  percentage  of  water 
in  the  manure.  Hen  manure  has  much  less  water  even  in  a  fresh 
state  than  that  of  cattle,  and  air-dried  hen  manure,  free  from  earth, 
etc.,  is  sometimes  worth  as  much  as  $10  per  ton,  providing  the  hens 
are  well  fed.  In  this  state  air-dried  sheep  manure  in  large  corral 
deposits  in  Fresno  county  has  been  found  by  analyses  at  the  Uni- 
versity of  California  to  have  this  composition  and  value : 

Per  cent. 

Nitrogen    2.32 

Potash    2.90 

Phosphoric  Acid  2.88 

The  material  had  only  twenty-eight  per  cent  of  water  and  its 
value  calculated  at  the  agreed  price  of  its  ingredients  is  $10.95  per 
ton.  Even  when  calculated  at  the  same  per  cent  of  water,  the  Cali- 
fornia corral  deposit  has  much  higher  value  than  the  eastern  sheep 
manure,  because  it  has  suffered  less  from  leaching. 


78  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Garden  Use  of  Concentrated  Manures. — Hen,  sheep  and  hog 
manure  very  much  richer,  as  shown,  than  the  same  bulk  of  cow 
or  horse  manure.  The  safest  way  to  use  them  is  by  composting 
with  other  materials,  as  will  be  described  presently,  but  if  it  is  de- 
sirable to  use  them  alone,  care  should  be  taken  in  the  distribution, 
as  already  stated.  This  can  be  assured  by  thoroughly  mixing  these 
manures  with  at  least  equal  bulks  of  fine  earth,  when  they  will  soon 
be  reduced  into  a  fairly  dry  and  powdery  state  in  which  they  may 
be  readily  spread  broadcast  on  the  land,  or  be  sown  by  the  drill,  and 
be  found  a  useful  general  manure  for  every  kind  of  garden  produce, 
if  it  is  evenly  scattered  and  not  allowed  to  collect  around  the  roots 
of  single  plants.  A  mixture  which  is  good  for  all  garden  purposes 
can  be  made  with  1,000  Ibs.  of  chicken  manure,  150  Ibs.  nitrate  of 
soda,  600  Ibs.  fine  bone  meal,  and  250  Ibs.  muriate  of  potash.  Poul- 
try manure  should  not  be  mixed  with  wood  ashes. 

Deterioration  of  Manures. — There  are  two  ways  by  which 
animal  manures  lose  valuable  constituents :  first,  the  escape  of  nitro- 
gen by  fermentation  which  sets  free  this  element  chiefly  in  the  form 
of  ammonia;  second,  the  leaching  out  of  soluble  matters  by  ex- 
posure of  the  mass  to  copious  rains.  Both  of  these  losses  are  prac- 
tically prevented  by  drying  of  the  manure.  The  local  demonstration 
of  this  general  truth  is  seen  in  the  analysis  just  given  of  sheep 
manure  which  has  passed  through  many  years  of  exposure  to  the 
weather  in  an  arid  interior  valley  of  California  and  still  retains  so 
much  fertilizing  value.  Another  means  by  which  fermentation  is 
reduced  and  controlled  is  by  compacting  the  mass  so  that  free  access 
of  air  and  free  passage  of  water  are  prevented.  This  compacting 
is  currently  accomplished  by  the  tread  of  the  sheep  confined  by 
night  in  large  numbers  in  small  inclosure.  The  prevention  of  leach- 
ing in  this  case  is  also  due  to  the  fact  that  the  local  rainfall  never 
reaches  in  any  short  period  volume  enough  to  accomplish  percola- 
tion through  the  thick  layer  of  manure  to  the  soil.  We  have,  then, 
in  the  case  of  a  dry  interior  valley  of  California,  all  the  conditions 
for  the  preservation  of  manure  which  the  progressive  farmers  of 
humid  climates  secure  by  means  of  covered  cattle  yards,  covered 
pits,  manure  sheds  and  other  devices. 

And  yet  manure  will  go  to  destruction  in  California  as  fast  as 
elsewhere  unless  the  conditions  mentioned  are  secured.  Loose  piles 
of  manure,  except  in  the  most  arid  localities,  have,  or  subsequently 
receive,  moisture  enough  to  start  active  fermentation  and  will  "fire- 
fang"  and  become  nearly  worthless  in  a  very  short  time  during  our 
hot  summer.  Such  loose  piles  thrown  to  the  weather  in  the  rainy 
season  will  be  largely  leached  of  their  soluble  matters  wherever 
rainfall  is  considerable.  Probably  the  easiest  way  to  preserve  manure 
in  California  is  to  allow  it  to  lie  in  the  corral  during  the  summer, 
for  there  it  is  free  from  leaching  rain,  usually  from  June  to  No- 
vember, and  all  its  coarse  straw,  etc.,  dry  and  brittle,  is  reduced 
almost  to  powder  by  the  tramp  of  the  animals.  If,  then,  this  fine 


COMPOST  FOR  GARDEN  PURPOSES  79 

material  is  scraped  up,  spread  and  plowed  in  at  the  beginning  of 
the  rainy  season  it  will  readily  ferment  in  the  soil  and  all  its  value 
be  retained,  if  the  application  is  made  to  a  heavy  soil  under  a  good 
rainfall.  If  the  garden  or  field  of  fall  vegetables  is  started  with  a 
good  deep  irrigation  manure  can  be  plowed  in  at  that  time,  but 
otherwise  the  application  should  be  made  under  the  fall  rains. 

The  winter-made  manure  should  not  be  allowed  to  lie  in  the 
corral  to  be  leached  by  drenching  rain.  It  should  be  gathered  fre- 
quently and  applied  fresh  to  the  land,  so  that  the  leachings  may  go  to 
useful  purposes  in  the  soil  and  the  coarse  material  should  be  plowed 
in  while  there  is  still  moisture  enough  in  the  soil  to  make  the  process 
safe  and  efficacious. 

This  easiest  way  to  handle  animal  manures  in  California  may 
do  for  ordinary  farm  crops,  if  the  soil  is  heavy  enough  and  moist 
enough  to  receive  unfermented  manure  without  danger  to  the  crop 
from  the  loss  of  moisture,  but  it  is  not  the  best  way  to  handle  ma- 
nure, either  for  field  crops  or  for  gardens.  Manure  for  garden  use 
should  be  most  carefully  treated  to  save  all  its  richness  and  to  render 
its  coarse  materials  more  readily  available  in  soil-forming  processes. 
In  short,  instead  of  preventing  fermentation,  manure  for  garden 
purposes  should  be  put  through  a  carefully  controlled  fermentation 
which  is  involved  in  composting. 

Compost  for  Garden  Purposes. — The  term  compost  signifies 
a  mixture  of  manurial  substances  and  for  garden  use  there  should 
be  collection  constantly  made  of  the  voiding  of  the  animals,  trim- 
mings of  vegetables,  the  refuse  of  plants  as  the  ground  is  cleared, 
the  house  wastes,  and  in  fact  everything  of  an  organic  nature  which 
will  yield  to  decay,  and  any  available  mineral  wastes,  like  ashes, 
which  contain  plant  food.  If  all  these  are  added  to  the  animal 
manure  and  treatment  adopted  which  will  promote  the  proper  fer- 
mentation in  it,  the  manure  will  assist  in  reducing  the  other  ma- 
terials to  proper  condition  for  garden  use. 

The  conditions  for  such  fermentation  are  adequate  moisture 
accompanied  with  stirring  and  aeration  enough  to  distribute  the 
action  evenly  throughout  the  mass  and  to  bring  all  the  materials 
under  its  influence.  There  are  numerous  ways  of  accomplishing 
this,  and  each  operator  will  probably  have  his  own  notions  about 
their  relative  ease  and  cheapness. 

Manure  Tanks. — These  are  cemented,  water-tight,  excavations 
of  various  sizes.  A  Napa  county  farmer  built  one  a  few  years  ago 
which  cost  him  nearly  two  hundred  dollars,  with  all  its  appurte- 
nances. It  is  thirteen  by  twenty  and  one-half  feet  in  size,  about 
six  feet  deep  and  exceedingly  well  built,  having  cement  walls  and 
floor,  so  as  to  be  water-tight.  The  floor  has  a  slant,  inclining  to  a 
well  at  one  end,  where,  with  the  aid  of  a  wooden  pump,  the  juices 
as  they  settle  are  raised  to  the  top  and  poured  over  the  mass  to 
again  percolate  through  it.  Such  a  cistern  might,  perhaps,  be  made 
for  less  money  now,  but  it  is  quite  a  question  whether  it  is  worth 


80  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

while  making  any  such  investment.  Loss  of  liquid  manure  by  leach- 
ing is  prevented,  but  on  the  other  hand  it  is  apt  to  accumulate  in 
such  quantities  in  the  pit  that,  unless  the  pit  is  roofed,  the  addition 
of  the  rainfall  will  result  in  the  submergence  of  all  the  manure  and 
this  excludes  the  air  and  prevents  the  proper  fermentation.  The 
result  is  that  there  is  great  cost  in  excavating  the  water-logged  ma- 
terial from  the  tank,  a  large  amount  of  heavy  and  disagreeable 
shoveling  and  the  manure  not  in  the  best  condition  after  all. 

Manure  Pits. — Manure  pits  if  excavated  with  one  sloping  side 
so  carts  can  be  readily  backed  in  for  filling,  are  cheaper  than  tanks 
and  if  they  have  a  clay  subsoil  for  a  floor  or  can  be  puddled  with 
clay  on  the  concave  bottom  they  will  hold  most  of  the  liquid  unless 
water  flushing  of  the  stable  is  indulged  in.  A  large  grower  of 
beets  and  other  roots  for  stock  feeding  in  San  Mateo  county  has 
for  a  number  of  years  used  this  arrangement  with  satisfaction : 

I  have  a  manure  pit  large  enough  to  hold  all  the  manure  made  in  a 
year.  A  hole  about  three  feet  deep  is  dug  out  of  the  side  of  a  hill.  A 
sloping  platform,  up  which  all  the  manure  is  wheeled,  raises  it  about  four 
feet  above  the  ground  on  the  upper  side,  which  gives  a  drop  for  the  manure 
of  about  seven  feet.  When  filled  up  to  a  level  with  the  end  of  the  platform, 
loose  planks  are  laid  as  required  on  top  of  the  manure.  Thus  by  continually 
wheeling  each  day's  manure  over  the  older  manure  its  solidity  is  insured, 
and  all  the  manure  made  on  the  farm  has  to  go  up  the  said  platform.  After 
the  cow  stable  is  cleaned  out,  the  lightest  of  the  manure  from  the  horse 
stable,  bull  stalls,  etc.,  or  any  other  absorbent,  is  put  behind  the  cows,  taking 
up  fluids,  and  thus  insuring  a  regular  quality  throughout  the  heap.  Another 
important  item  added  to  the  general  heap  is  the  hen  manure  and  ashes,  the 
latter  being  kept  in  a  large  tin,  which,  when  full,  is  emptied  into  the  fowl- 
house,  and  all  goes  in  the  manure  heap  together. 

This  use  of  absorbents  prevents  accumulation  of  excessive 
liquid  and  there  is  consequently  little  loss  by  leaching.  The  com- 
pacting of  the  mass  prevents  too  free  access  of  the  air  and  fit  con- 
ditions for  slowly  breaking  down  the  coarse  manure  are  assured. 
The  addition  of  wood  ashes  which  causes  loss  of  nitrogen  in  open 
mixtures  is  innocent  when  covered  into  a  mass  of  absorptive  ma- 
terial. 

Composting  in  Piles. — The  method  usually  followed  by  mar- 
ket gardeners  seems  on  the  whole  the  most  convenient  and  best 
for  this  climate,  where  the  winter  rainfall  is,  as  a  rule,  not  so 
heavy  as  to  occasion  much  leaching,  if  the  pile  is  of  several  feet  in 
depth.  It  involves  some  shoveling,  but  it  facilitates  rapid  curing 
of  the  manure  and  brings  it  into  excellent  condition  for  garden  use. 
Stack  the  fresh  manure  in  a  pile  several  feet  high.  Then  give  it 
a  thorough  wetting  from  a  hose  and  allow  it  to  decompose  for  a 
few  weeks.  Then  chop  it  down  with  sharp  spades,  mix  thoroughly 
and  stack  it  again;  then  wet  it  well  once  more,  and  after  a  few 
weeks  it  will  be  ready  to  put  upon  the  field.  This  process  of  com- 
posting destroys  all  weed  and  other  seeds,  prevents  the  manure 
from  burning,  as  well  as  the  escape  of  volatile  parts,  especially 
when  a  small  amount  of  loam  is  intermixed  when  stacking  it.  Com- 


WAYS  TO  USE  MANURES  81 

post  thus  made  is  suitable  for  the  finest  garden,  at  a  moderate  ex- 
pense, and  the  work  necessary  will  pay  a  larger  profit  than  any 
other  farm  labor.  Watching  the  moisture  and  using  the  hose,  when 
the  rainfall  is  not  adequate,  and  thorough  stirring  and  aeration  of 
the  mass,  are  the  essentials  of  the  process. 

The  manner  in  which  the  late  Ira  W.  Adams  handled  manures 
involves  correct  practice : 

Clean  up  all  the  manure  on  hand  just  before  the  fall  rains,  putting  the 
same  on  the  land,  and  either  cultivate  it  in  or  plow  it  under.  What  manure 
accumulates  during  the  winter,  pile  in  a  snug  heap  some  five  or  six  feet  in 
depth,  and  throw  it  over  some  three  or  four  times  during  the  winter  to 
keep  it  from  burning,  as  well  as  to  thoroughly  mix  it  and  thereby  hasten 
decomposition.  Put  horse,  cow,  hog,  chicken,  and  every  other  kind  of 
manure  that  can  be  had,  all  together. 

Never  burn  anything  that  will  rot,  but  haul  to  the  pile  cornstalks,  roots, 
and  all  squash,  melon,  tomato,  and  potato  vines,  etc.,  as  well  as  weeds  of 
every  description,  in  fact  anything  and  everything  that  will  decay  and  make 
vegetable  matter.  Use  fresh  horse  manure  mostly  to  hasten  the  decompo- 
sition of  said  vines,  weeds,  etc.,  alternating  as  the  heap  is  made.  By  so 
doing  there  will  not  be  a  weed  seed  left  with  vitality  enough  to  germinate. 

It  is  well  to  have  manure  piles  under  a  roof  to  avoid  leaching  during 
the  longest  and  most  excessive  rains,  but  so  situated  that  the  rain  falling  on 
the  barn  can  be  easily  conducted  to  the  piles,  giving  them  just  the  amount 
of  water  necessary  and  no  more.  After  the  rains  are  over,  some  water  will 
have  to  be  applied  from  time  to  time ;  and  covering  with  very  fine,  dry  earth 
will  keep  the  pile  from  drying  out  during  the  long,  hot  summer,  as  well  as 
cause  it  to  retain  most  of  the  ammonia,  etc.,  that  would  otherwise  have 
evaporated  and  escaped.  Late  in  the  fall  it  will  be  found  entirely  rotten, 
cutting  like  old  cheese. 

Liquid  Manure. — Liquid  extract  of  animal  manures  is  of  great 
efficacy  in  vegetable  growing  if  carefully  used.  It  is  made  by  filling 
a  barrel  with  manure,  pouring  water  on  above  and  drawing  it  out 
below  as  it  leaches  through  the  mass.  Another  way  is  to  have  a 
barrel  filled  with  water  in  a  handy  place  and  throw  into  it  enough 
manure  to  make  an  extract  of  the  right  strength.  No  matter  how 
it  is  done  care  must  be  taken  not  to  have  the  extract  too  strong. 
This  can  generally  be  told  by  the  color,  which  should  not  be  darker 
than  tea  of  medium  strength.  The  quantity  to  apply  in  the  hot-bed 
or  the  open  ground  must  be  learned  by  experience.  Enough  to 
produce  generous  and  still  vigorous  growth  is  the  rule.  With  plants 
to  bear  fruit  like  tomatoes  much  less  stimulant  can  be  used  than 
with  plants  for  foliage,  for  the  stimulant  always  acts  away  from 
fruiting  and  toward  leaf  and  stem  extension. 

Absorbents. — As  has  already  been  intimated,  the  free  use  of 
absorbents  is  very  desirable  both  for  valuable  liquids,  likely  to 
leach  away,  and  for  gases  which  are  prone  to  fly  off.  Probably 
the  best  absorbent  for  both  purposes  is  ground  gypsum,  which  is 
now  very  cheaply  furnished  from  local  sources  in  several  parts  of 
the  state.  It  adds  value  of  its  own  in  addition  to  its  absorbent 
properties.  A  very  abundant  material  in  an  arid  country  is  road 
dust.  It,  too,  will  take  up  both  liquids  and  gases.  In  village  gardens 


82  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

with  paved  streets  and  well-watered  soil,  sifted  coal  ashes  act  well 
in  the  hen-house  and  on  the  manure  pile,  and  the  cinders  which  are 
sifted  out  are  a  good  foundation  for  permanent  garden  walks.  The 
free  use  of  the  fine  coal  ashes  for  years  kept  the  writer's  fowls 
without  a  case  of  swell-head,  rid  the  hen-house  of  all  odor,  and 
furnished  many  wagon  loads  of  home-made  fertilizer  which  is  per- 
fectly safe  to  use  freely  as  the  hen  manure  is  diffused  through  quite 
a  bulk  of  material.  The  effect  of  large  use  of  these  sifted  coal  ashes 
on  an  adobe  garden  well-nigh  took  the  hatefulness  out  of  it  and 
made  it  into  a  loam  delightful  to  put  tools  into. 

Manure  as  a  Mulch. — Market  gardeners  operating  with  heavy 
soils  use  immense  quantities  of  barn-yard  manure  both  composted 
with  garden  wastes  and  as  fresh  manure.  The  latter  is  largely 
used  as  a  mulch  or  top  dressing  during  the  rainy  season  to  prevent 
heavy  rain  from  compacting  the  soil  around  the  young  plants  and 
to  get  the  richness  of  the  manure  by  leaching.  They  use  it  in  sum- 
mer also  to  prevent  surface  evaporation  and  to  prevent  compacting 
the  surface  when  the  water  is  hand-thrown  with  scoop  or  pan  from 
the  ditches  between  the  raised  beds.  This  is  to  help  small  plants 
with  their  rooting;  afterward  they  take  water  percolation  from 
the  ditch.  The  free  surface  use  of  fresh  coarse  manure  to  be  after- 
ward forked  in,  is  safe  on  heavy  clay,  which  the  gardener  is  en- 
deavoring to  lighten  up,  but  if  coarse  manure  is  used  as  a  mulch 
on  light  sandy  soil,  it  should  be  raked  up  and  taken  to  the  compost 
heap,  as  only  thoroughly  decomposed  manure  should  be  worked  into 
such  soil. 

Of  the  services  of  a  manure  mulch,  Prof.  Rogers,  of  the  Uni- 
versity Farm,  says: 

Well-rotted  stable  manure,  free  from  coarse  straw,  should  be  put  on 
to  a  depth  of  about  two  inches  and  scattered  evenly  over  the  beds.  When 
planting  onion,  radish,  turnip,  beet  or  other  seeds,  scatter  the  manure  on 
the  beds  immediately  after  planting.  Where  the  vegetables  have  appeared 
above  the  surface  the  top  dressing  can  be  distributed  between  the  rows. 
After  the  garden  has  thus  been  treated  it  will  not  need  irrigating  under 
ordinary  conditions  more  than  once  a  week,  and  except  where  the  weed 
growth  is  bad  hoeing  will  be  a  thing  of  the  past.  The  manure  not  only 
has  a  physical  effect,  but  it  will  enrich  the  soil  and  instead  of  the  tops  of 
the  vegetables  having  a  yellow,  sickly  color,  they  will  become  green  and 
healthy  in  appearance.  Water  can  be  applied  in  the  same  manner  as  if 
the  top  dressing  was  not  there. 

Wood  Ashes. — Coal  ashes  have  no  estimable  manurial  value ; 
their  effect  is  mechanical,  just  as  is  the  effect  of  adding  sand  to 
clay,  but  wood  ashes  as  well  as  plant  ashes  of  all  kinds,  is  in- 
trinsically an  excellent  fertilizer,  since  it  contains  the  soil  ingredi- 
ents required  by  all  plants,  even  though  in  different  proportions. 
The  value  of  ash  varies  materially  in  accordance  with  the  degree 
of  heat  to  which  it  has  been  subjected  when  made.  In  general 
the  hotter  the  fire,  the  less  active  will  be  the  ash  as  a  fertilizer. 


COMMERCIAL  FERTILIZERS  83 

The  chemical  composition  of  ashes  varies  considerably,  ac- 
cording to  the  plants,  or  parts  of  plants,  from  which  it  has  been 
derived;  the  smaller  the  wood,  or  the  more  of  weeds  or  other 
herbaceous  material  there  was  in  it,  the  more  valuable  the  ash ;  but 
taking  a  broad  average,  a  bushel  (say  forty-eight  pounds)  of  wood 
ashes  would,  according  to  the  ordinary  valuation  of  the  ingredients, 
be  worth  about  twenty-five  cents — counting  on  an  average  of  five 
per  cent  of  potash  and  two  per  cent  of  phosphoric  acid.  In  general, 
ashes  should  be  spread  broadcast  over  the  surface  of  the  ground 
and  allowed  to  be  washed  in  by  rains  or  irrigation,  and  not 
placed  too  near  the  plant.  If  plowed  in  shallow  with  stubble  or 
weeds,  the  latter  decompose  very  quickly,  and  the  effect  of  both 
is  thus  improved  and  quickened. 

The  greatest  benefit  may  be  expected  upon  sandy  and  porous 
soils.  On  these  "light  soils"  crops  of  every  kind,  but  especially  root 
crops  and  corn,  will  be  benefited  by  a  dressing  of  wood  ashes. 
Thirty  to  fifty  bushels  to  the  acre  of  fresh  ashes  will  be  a  full 
dressing,  and  three  or  four  times  that  amount  of  leached  ashes  may 
be  applied  with  permanent  benefit. 

Bone  Manures. — To  make  bones  readily  available  they  may  be 
treated  with  sulphuric  acid  and  rendered  into  superphosphate,  which 
is  soluble.  But  sulphuric  acid  is  a  very  dangerous  agent  to  handle, 
and  can  hardly  be  commended  for  farm  or  garden  use.  Burning 
bones  destroys  their  nitrogen  and  renders  the  phosphate  even  more 
insoluble.  The  best  home  treatment  for  bones  is  to  crush  them  if 
it  can  be  handily  done,  and  then  put  them  through  the  fermentation 
of  the  compost  heap.  The  bones  which  do  not  break  down  under 
this  treatment  can  best  be  buried  deeply  in  the  orchard  to  await  the 
slow  disintegration  by  the  tree  roots. 

Commercial  Fertilisers. — A  discussion  of  the  value  and  avail- 
ability of  commercial  fertilizers  is  beyond  the  reach  of  this  treatise. 
The  vegetable  grower  should  possess  himself  of  a  good  recent  book 
on  the  subject.*  In  connection  with  the  different  vegetables  there 
will  be  mention  of  applications  which  have  been  serviceable,  but  a 
general  formula  may  be  cited  from  Voorhees,  as  follows : 

A  good  basic  formula  for  such  market  garden  crops  as  aspara- 
gus, cucumbers,  early  potatoes,  early  tomatoes,  onions,  cabbage, 
cauliflower,  celery,  egg  plants,  melons,  peppers,  squashes,  etc.,  may 
consist  of: 

Lbs. 

Nitrate  of  soda 100 

Sulphate  of  ammonia 100 

Dried  blood  150 

Ground  bone   100 

Superphosphate    450 

Muriate  of  potash 150 

From  800  to  1000  Ibs.  of  this  formula  can  be  used  per  acre. 


*Such  a  book  is  "Fertilizers,"  by  E.  B.  Voorhees,  Macmillan  Co.,  New  York. 


84  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

In  addition  to  the  foregoing,  which  should  be  well  distributed 
through  the  soil  before  planting,  additional  surface  scattering  of 
nitrate  of  soda  at  the  rate  of  100  Ibs.  per  acre  may  be  made  during 
the  early  growth  of  the  plants. 

Nitrate  of  Soda. — The  nitrate  of  soda  is  the  old  reliance  of 
gardeners  as  promotive  of  quick,  free  growth  and  the  plant  may  be 
pushed  early  in  its  growth  when  perhaps  temperatures  are  too  low 
for  full  action  of  other  supplies  of  nitrogen,  which  the  soil  may 
contain.  Careful  application  should  be  made,  after  the  seed  has 
germinated,  during  the  early  stages  of  growth  of  the  plant  which 
it  is  desired  to  stimulate.  The  time  of  application  does  not  depend 
upon  the  calendar  but  upon  the  ability  of  the  plant  to  use  it  to  the 
best  advantage.  An  excessive  application  may  kill  the  plants  and 
even  distribution  is  essential,  either  over  the  whole  surface  or  along 
the  row,  at  the  rate  of  200  to  500  pounds  per  acre,  according  to 
the  ability  of  the  plant  to  use  it  to  the  grower's  advantage.  The 
nitrate  is  distributed  to  the  roots  by  the  use  of  very  little  water; 
too  heavy  rainfall  or  irrigation  may  carry  it  away  from  them. 

O.  M.  Morris  of  Los  Angeles  gives  these  hints  for  garden  use 
of  nitrate: 

A  light  application  in  furrows  each  side  of  the  rows  will  stimulate  more 
rapid  growth.  Probably  the  most  satisfactory  method  is  to  scatter  the 
crystals  of  nitrate  of  soda  lightly  along  in  the  irrigating  furrow  after  the 
water  has  been  shut  off,  using  five  pounds  to  three  or  four  hundred  feet  of 
row.  Then  turn  the  soil  back  over  this  wet  furrow,  when  the  nitrate  will 
be  quickly  dissolved  and  will  go  directly  to  the  roots.  Blood  meal  applied 
in  like  manner  will  give  similarly  good  results,  as  will  also  many  of  the 
commercial  fertilizers  with  soluble  ingredients. 

Application  must  be  made  intelligently  and  sparingly  at  first 
until  the  grower  finds  how  much  he  can  use  to  secure  best  results 
with  the  particular  plant  he  desires  to  push  along. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

GARDEN  LOCATION  AND 
ARRANGEMENT. 

Several  things  should  be  considered  in  locating  the  farm  gar- 
den, for  much  depends  upon  selecting:  first,  the  best  soil  for  the 
purpose  the  farm  affords;  second,  situation  with  relation  to  pro- 
tection, warmth  and  drainage;  third,  nearness  to  water  supply  for 
irrigation;  fourth,  nearness  to  the  home  and  protection  from  intru- 
sion. It  may  not  be  possible  to  combine  all  these  points  in  a  single 
situation,  and  then  it  may  be  advisable  to  make  two  locations,  or, 
in  making  one,  to  sacrifice  convenience  to  the  more  imperative  con- 
ditions of  exposure,  soil  and  moisture. 

Choice  of  Soil. — General  considerations  in  connection  with  soils 
have  already  been  given.  Of  course,  for  ease  of  work  as  well  as 
for  other  considerations  a  rich  loam  should  be  chosen — the  best  that 
the  ranch  affords.  As  to  grades  of  loam,  the  lighter  should  be 
chosen  for  the  winter  garden  because  of  the  better  natural  drain- 
age and  warmth  and  the  short  time  in  which  such  soils  will  take 
tools  and  seeds  well  after  heavy  rains.  The  heavier  and  more  re- 
tentive soil  will  better  suit  the  summer  garden.  Sometimes  these 
two  soils  may  be  found  beside  each  other  in  the  same  acre;  some- 
times the  soil  can  be  readily  improved  in  these  lines,  as  has  already 
been  explained,  or  small  pieces  at  a  distance  from  each  other  may 
be  chosen  if  each  has  distinctive  fitness. 

Situation  and  Exposure. — Situation  should  be  considered  for 
warmth  and  protection  as  well  as  drainage,  which  has  been  men- 
tioned. Though  garden  ground  in  general  is  most  conveniently 
worked  if  it  has  just  enough  grade  for  the  slow  distribution  of 
water,  for  winter  and  early  spring  growth  an  elevation  out  of  the 
frosts  of  the  low  grounds  and  into  the  superior  heat  of  the  southerly 
slopes  will  be  found  of  advantage.  In  addition  to  the  ridge  above, 
such  protection  from  north  and  northwest  winds  as  a  windbreak 
of  trees  or  farm  buildings  or  a  high  fence  will  be  valuable.  There 
is  great  difference  in  the  safety  and  speed  of  winter  vegetables  on 
benches  and  hillsides,  as  compared  with  the  lower  lands  at  their 
feet  only  a  few  rods  away  perhaps.  Warm  protected  slopes  are 
best  for  winter  and  the  worst  for  summer  vegetables.  Shallow  soil 
spread  on  porous  rock  is  non-retentive  and  warm  for  winter  growth, 
but  it  may  be  impossible,  even  with  irrigation,  to  carry  good  succu- 
lent growth  on  it  during  the  blistering  summer  heat.  Then  the 
deep  loams  of  the  creek  borders  and  other  level  lands  delight  the 
gardener  with  the  largest  returns  for  the  least  water. 

[85] 


86  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Nearness  to  Water  Supply. — The  summer  garden  should  be 
near  the  water  supply,  if  it  be  developed  from  home  sources,  or 
the  water  should  be  piped  to  it,  which  is  almost  equivalent  to  mov- 
ing the  reservoir  to  the  garden  site.  Carriage  of  water  in  a  flume 
entails  losses  by  leakage  and  evaporation  and  earth-ditches  are  dis- 
tressingly wasteful  by  evaporation  and  percolation.  One  often  sees 
water  started  on  its  way  from  the  home-site  tanks  toward  a  distant 
garden,  making  mud-holes  and  losing  volume  all  the  way.  In  many 
cases  another  well-outfit  for  the  sole  use  of  the  garden  would  be  a 
good  investment. 

Nearness  to  the  Home. — If  fairly  good  conditions  exist  near 
the  home  site,  by  all  means  locate  the  garden  there.  It  will  win 
the  interest  and  profit  by  the  attention  of  the  house  folks  and  will 
yield  its  supply  directly  to  their  hands  in  most  cases.  Besides,  with 
the  tools  handy,  spare  hours  now  and  then  will  be  given  to  its 
working  when  the  leisure  is  too  short  to  warrant  or  incline  one  to 
walk  to  a  distant  patch.  The  time  thus  saved  may  almost  keep 
the  garden  going  in  good  shape.  Then,  a  well-kept  garden  is  an 
ornament  and  the  ornamentation  of  our  rural  homes  is  not  usually 
over  rich. 

Protection  from  Intrusion. — To  be  any  comfort  and  gratfica- 
tion  whatever  the  farm  garden  must  be  protected  from  intruders. 
One  of  the  chief  objections  to  locating  vegetable  patches  here  and 
there  in  the  best  situations  for  special  purposes  lies  in  the  trouble 
of  excluding  wild  marauders  of  all  sizes  from  a  jack-rabbit  to  a 
deer  and  the  whole  range  of  domestic  invaders  from  the  pasture  or 
corral.  This  fact  alone  compels  many  to  forego  vegetable  planting 
except  in  the  well-fenced  house-yard.  It  is  not  difficult  to  inclose 
a  few  square  rods  with  wire  netting  or  with  the  woven  fence  of 
wire  and  lath,  and  driven  posts — the  whole  to  be  rolled  up  and 
stored  or  moved  to  another  inclosure  as  the  progress  of  the  season 
gives  it  new  uses. 

A  home-grown  fence  is  quite  possible  in  California,  using  for 
pickets  the  southern  cane  or  the  Asiatic  bamboos,  both  of  which 
grow  readily  on  moist  land  in  this  state.  Mr.  C.  A.  Maul  of  Kern 
county  was  recently  reported  to  have  completed  the  construction  of 
a  mile  of  fence,  using  these  canes  for  pickets.  His  plan  was  this : 
Second-hand  railroad  ties  were  bought  and  split  for  posts.  These 
were  set  a  rod  apart.  With  a  machine  that  cost  about  twenty-five 
dollars,  the  canes  were  woven  into  a  web,  using  six  No.  14  wires 
for  the  chain.  The  canes  were  cut  three  and  one-half  feet  long,  the 
fence  posts  are  four  feet  high  and  along  the  top  of  them  a  barbed 
wire  is  stretched,  so  that  when  completed  one  has  a  chicken  or 
rabbit  proof  fence  as  well  as  a  strong  stock  fence.  This  fence,  Mr. 
Maul  says,  can  be  built  for  forty  cents  a  rod  where  one  raises  his 
own  cane.  It  is  very  durable,  the  cane  becoming  as  hard  as  bone 
and  never  rotting;  rabbits  cannot  gnaw  it,  and  it  will  not  ignite 
from  burning  grass  near  it  as  common  pine  fencing  or  lath  will ; 


LAYING  OFF  FOR  VEGETABLES  87 

stock  can  see  it  and  hence  will  not  run  against  it ;  it  can  be  made  of 
any  height  desired,  the  canes  growing  as  high  as  twelve  to  fifteen 
feet;  it  may  be  taken  down,  rolled  up  and  moved  without  injury 
and  at  slight  expense.  In  addition  to  their  use  as  protective  fences 
these  woven  canes  and  wire  serve  as  windbreaks,  sunshades,  etc., 
as  such  may  be  desired  for  temporary  service. 

The  Horse-Power  Garden. — Although  our  foreign-born  friends 
who  do  most  of  the  market  garden  work  in  California  retain  their 
native  predilection  for  hand  labor  and  plan  their  gardens  accord- 
ingly, it  is  advisable  that  farm  vegetable  growers  should  arrange  to 
use  as  much  horse  power  as  possible.  Both  for  this  purpose  and  to 
facilitate  furrow  irrigation  or  seepage  ditch  irrigating,  if  the  slope 
suits  it,  the  garden  should  be  somewhat  brick-shaped,  because  of 
trfe  greater  work  which  can  be  done  with  the  same  or  fewer  turn- 
ings of  the  horse  or  team  than  on  a  square  piece.  At  both  ends 
there  should  be  a  roadway  left  for  turning  the  team.  The  shape 
is  equally  adapted  for  flat  or  ridge  cultivation. 

In  the  horse-power  farm  garden  there  should,  of  course,  be 
no  permanent  walks.  If  walks  are  desired,  leave  spaces  length- 
wise unplanted  and  uncultivated  and  smooth  down  the  surface  with 
a  roller.  Such  arrangements,  however,  waste  land  and  waste  moist- 
ure, for  the  hard  ground  draws  water  laterally.  It  is  better  econ- 
omy, therefore,  to  evenly  cultivate  the  whole  area.  Lay  out  the 
plantings  in  straight  rows  for  ease  of  cultivation,  and  either  plant 
full  rows  of  each  vegetable  or  continue  the  rows  with  another  kind 
which  requires  the  same  distance.  Proper  distances  for  each  vege- 
table will  be  considered  in  subsequent  chapters.  It  is  convenient 
to  make  the  distances  multiples  of  some  unit.  For  instance  two 
feet  between  the  rows  is  about  the  minimum  distance  for  horse 
cultivation.  Some  growers,  therefore,  plant  at  two,  four,  six,  eight, 
etc.,  feet  distances:  others  start  with  three  feet  and  proceed  with 
six,  nine,  twelve,  etc. — the  latter  for  the  largest  running  vines. 
This  makes  rows  of  the  small,  upright  growers  a  yard  apart,  which 
is  rather  too  great  a  distance  ordinarily. 

It  is  often  a  great  convenience  to  have  permanent  distance 
stakes  set  close  to  the  fences  on  the  ends  of  the  plot  and  placing 
them  the  accepted  unit  apart.  It  is  easy  to  regulate  distances  by 
slipping  the  planting  line  over  the  two  opposite  stakes  which  give 
the  desired  separation.  If  one  has  a  good  horse  and  a  good  eye, 
he  will,  however,  probably  prefer  to  use  a  "marker"  made  with 
thills  and  plow  handles  properly  fastened  to  a  cross-bar  eight  or 
ten  feet  long  and  fitted  with  wooden  teeth  such  distance  apart  as  he 
adopts  as  his  unit  of  distance  between  the  rows.  Starting,  then, 
with  a  straight  guide-line  on  the  surface  on  one  side,  thre  or  four 
parallel  lines  can  be  clearly  marked  at  one  driving  over.  Follow- 
ing these  marks  with  the  garden  drill,  or  with  the  hoe  planting,  very 
straight  lines  of  seeding  can  be  done  in  a  fraction  of  the  time  needed 
to  work  with  a  line.  But  whether  line  or  marker  be  used,  it  is 


88  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

desirable  to  rotate  the  plants  year  by  year  so  that  the  narrow  and 
wide  row  plantings  shall  change  places  on  the  plot,  else  one  might 
be  so  supernaturally  accurate  that  the  rows  would  come  everlast- 
ingly on  the  same  lines,  which  would  not  be  desirable  even  if  the 
'soil  were  somewhat  displaced  laterally  by  cultivation. 

The  Man-Power  Garden. — With  a  soil  either  naturally  or  arti- 
ficially light  and  mellow,  as  discussed  in  Chapter  IV,  there  is  possi- 
ble a  very  satisfactory  compromise  between  horse  and  hand  work 
through  the  excellent  wheel  cultivators,  seeders,  etc.,  operated  by  a 
man  while  walking.  They  can  be  found  in  all  garden,  tool  and 
supply  stores  and  catalogues  and  should  be  used  to  replace  slower 
and  more  laborious  hand  work  in  all  save  the  smallest  dooryard 
gardens,  and  even  they  are  seldom  too  small  to  gain  some  advan- 
tage from  the  use  of  these  appliances.  Though  they  may  be  op- 
erated in  very  close  rows  it  is  much  better  for  ease  of  cultivation 
and  for  the  growth  of  the  plants,  also,  that  ample  distances  be 
given.  C.  M.  Hoak,  in  the  California  Cultivator,  gives  good  advice 
on  this  point: 

Do  not  make  the  mistake  of  putting  rows  too  close  together.  With 
the  exception  of  radishes,  onions,  lettuce  and  similar  material,  vegetables  can 
be  spaced  in  rows  30  inches  apart.  Double  rows  with  the  companion  rows 
eight  inches  apart  with  the  30-inch  spacing  between  is  one  of  the  most 
satisfactory  arrangements  which  can  be  made  to  allow  thorough  cultivation. 
Try  laying  out  your  garden  in  this  way,  and  every  time  you  think  you 
ought  to  water  cultivate  with  a  five-pronged  cultivator  or  a  wheeled  plow. 
Your  water  bill  will  be  lower  and  your  vegetables  better. 

Arrangement  for  Succession. — It  is  a  great  convenience  in 
arranging  for  due  succession  in  the  garden  (which  will  be  further 
considered  in  the  chapter  on  planting)  to  give  adjacent  rows  to 
vegetables  which  mature  at  about  the  same  time.  By  this  arrange- 
ment,  say,  half  or  a  quarter  of  the  garden  lengthwise  can  be  cleaned 
up  at  the  same  time  and  the  whole  section  be  at  once  replanted  or 
plowed  up  for  later  planting  or  irrigating  as  may  be  desirable.  Of 
course  if  early  plantings  for  winter  use  are  made  in  the  same  plot 
with  plantings  which  will  go  into  the  summer,  each  should  be  in  its 
own  quarter  of  the  garden. 

Shade  in  the  Summer  Garden. — In  arranging  the  summer  gar- 
den in  the  interior  heat,  it  is  sometimes  desirable  to  place  low, 
tender-leaved  plants  like  lettuce  between  rows  of  tall  vegetables 
which  afford  it  partial  shade.  Tall  corn  or  pole  beans  may  thus 
take  the  place  of  artificial  screens  which  might  otherwise  be 
necessary. 

VEGETABLE  GROWING  IN  YOUNG  ORCHARD  AND  VINEYARD. 

This  subject  is  usually  discussed  from  the  point  of  view  of 
injury  to  the  trees,  and  rightly  so,  because  the  trees  represent  the 
greater  investment  and  the  greater  expectations,  but  the  lowly  vege- 
tables have  a  point  of  view  also  and  by  their  appearance  they  clearly 


VEGETABLES  AMONG  FRUIT  TREES  89 

declare  that  whether  they  hurt  the  trees  or  not  they  would  like  a 
better  place  on  their  own  account.  It  is  a  fact  that  inter-culture  of 
vegetables  in  an  orchard  is  soon  abandoned  because  the  vegetables 
do  not  pay  for  the  trouble  and  by  the  sight  of  them  one  is  not 
surprised  that  they  do  not  pay.  It  would  probably  be  much  better 
for  trees,  vegetables  and  owner  if  half  an  acre,  if  for  home  use, 
and  larger  area,  if  for  market,  should  be  kept  free  of  trees  and 
handled  on  a  more  intensive  plan  for  the  production  of  fine  vege- 
tables. When  fruit  prices  were  higher  and  orchard  improvements 
the  only  avenue  to  high  acre-valuation,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
people  tried  to  plant  fruit  trees  everywhere  on  small  tract  pur- 
chases— even  to  making  clothes-line  posts  of  them,  but  now  as 
other  resources  are  receiving  better  proportional  esteem,  a  small, 
first-class  garden  spot,  worked  up  to  the  limits  of  its  possibilities, 
should  receive  attention  not  only  for  constant  money-saving  and 
money-making,  but  as  one  of  the  most  valuable  improvements  on 
the  place. 

There  is  no  particular  disadvantage  or  difficulty  in  growing 
vegetables  in  young  orchards  or  vineyards  providing  conditions  are 
right  for  it.  Fruits  and  vegetables  have  been  associated  in  gardens, 
probably,  ever  since  Adam  failed  through  giving  too  much  attention 
to  fruit.  But  the  association  of  fruits  and  vegetables  has  been 
successful  upon  the  garden  policy  of  enrichment,  irrigation,  and 
the  highest  known  culture.  This  is  quite  different  from  the  propo- 
sition as  it  has  arisen  in  California,  which  is  to  grow  vegetables 
upon  the  orchard  policy  of  cultivation  for  conservation  of  moisture 
and  trust  to  the  natural  fertility  of  the  land.  It  is  not  surprising 
that  the  soil  often  rebels  at  the  double  burden  as  beyond  its  strength 
and  dictates  its  terms  to  the  grower — by  so  much  as  you  gain  of 
one  by  so  much  you  shall  lose  of  the  other. 

It  has,  however,  been  shown  in  previous  chapters  on  soils  and 
irrigation  that  California  has  natural  soils  and  situations  which  are 
quite  comparable  with  the  best  conditions  which  intensive  culture 
can  produce  in  the  gardens  of  older  lands  and,  this  being  true,  it  is 
possible  to  draw  upon  their  rich  resources  in  the  same  way.  It  is 
quite  possible,  then,  to  grow  good  vegetables  between  young  fruit 
trees  and  for  a  certain  period  it  can  be  done  without  irreparable 
injury  to  the  trees,  providing  the  local  conditions  warrant  the  prac- 
tice. These  conditions  may  be  thus  summarized: 

If  the  soil  be  of  only  average  richness,  the  rainfall  moderate 
to  meager  in  amount,  and  no  facilities  for  irrigation,  it  would  be 
unfortunate  to  place  any  other  burden  on  the  land  than  the  growth 
of  the  trees. 

If  the  soil  be  not  over  rich  and  the  rainfall  heavy,  but  the 
moisture  easily  lost  by  percolation  or  evaporation,  owing  to  non- 
retentiveness  of  the  soil,  and  no  irrigation  facilities,  give  the  trees 
all  the  ground  and  the  most  perfect  summer  cultivation  possible. 


90  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

If  the  land  be  rich,  the  rainfall  abundant  and  moisture  held 
well  in  the  soil,  or  if  irrigation  can  be  made  use  of,  it  is  fair  to  think 
of  an  inter-crop  during  the  early  years  of  the  orchard,  providing 
the  crop  can  be  profitably  disposed  of,  its  nature  is  such  that  no 
heavy  draft  is  made  on  fertility,  and  the  financial  condition  of  the 
planter  requires  immediate  return  from  the  land,  if  possible. 

It  thus  appears  that  an  inter-crop  is  finally  made  to  hinge  upon 
the  grower's  necessities,  and  the  inference  would  be  that  if  the 
money  is  not  needed  immediately,  it  would  be  wiser  to  hold  the 
whole  strength  of  the  soil  as  an  investment  on  which  returns  are  to 
be  finally  had  in  the  increased  growth  and  fuller  fruiting  of  the 
trees  in  later  years. 

This  views  the  matter  from  a  commercial  point  of  view  and 
therefore  in  its  most  aggravated  form.  If  it  is  merely  a  question  of 
whether  the  home  supply  of  vegetables  shall  be  taken  from  the 
young  orchard  or  vineyard,  it  is  less  serious  and  deserves  a  stronger 
affirmative. 

In  growing  vegetables  between  the  rows  of  trees  or  vines, 
much  depends,  of  course,  upon  the  time  and  the  way  it  is  done.  If 
water  can  be  applied  between  the  rows  late  in  the  summer  in  such 
a  way  that  it  will  not  prevent  the  deciduous  trees  from  going  for- 
ward to  their  usual  dormancy,  or  if  the  grower  waits  until  the  fall 
rains  wet  the  ground  sufficiently  and  then  puts  in  his  vegetables  for 
late  fall  and  winter  growth  without  extending  them  too  near  the 
trees,  he  can  make  his  winter  garden,  enjoy  its  produce,  and  plow 
in  the  debris  so  early  in  the  spring  that  no  appreciable  injury  will 
be  done  to  the  trees,  unless  he  is  on  that  line  of  light  rainfall  where 
every  possible  effort  is  demanded  to  receive  and  conserve  all  the 
water  that  falls.  If  that  be  the  case  he  has  to  cultivate  to  conserve 
moisture  both  winter  and  summer  and  should  not  think  even  of 
winter  vegetables  in  the  orchard. 

Perhaps  the  chief  objection  to  winter  vegetable  growing  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  crop  is  planted  too  late  and  is  allowed  to  occupy 
the  ground  so  late  in  the  spring  that  the  soil  cannot  be  brought  into 
fine  tilth  which  is  necessary  to  save  moisture.  Instead  of  this,  the 
impacted  ground  on  which  the  vegetables  stood  is  turned  up  in 
clods  which  no  amount  of  crushing  will  reduce  to  tilth  and  the 
orchard  loses  by  defective  cultivation  more  moisture  than  the  vege- 
tables consumed  in  their  growth. 

The  summer  growth  of  vegetables  in  the  orchard  is  a  more 
dangerous  operation  and  whether  it  should  be  undertaken  or  not 
depends  upon  local  conditions  previously  outlined.  Perhaps  a  spe- 
cific instance  may  enforce  the  point  and  show  what  may  be  taken 
as  favored  soil  and  moisture  conditions.  In  the  lower  lands  of  the 
Santa  Clara  valley  near  San  Jose  there  have  been  constant  contri- 
butions to  fertility  by  overflows  from  mountain  water  bringing  leaf 
mold  and  other  materials  found  in  the  deposits  of  "slum,"  which 
renew  and  keep  up  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  Much  of  this  land  has 


WHEN   IS  INTER-PLANTING  REASONABLE?  91 

been  under  cultivation  forty  years  and  upwards,  and  yet  is  known 
as  garden  soil.  Much  of  this  land  is  adobe,  naturally  remarkably 
productive,  aside  from  its  benefits  from  overflow.  Such  soils  have 
proved  able  to  produce,  without  apparent  exhaustion,  orchard  trees 
and  the  crops  that  are  grown  among  them.  There  is  an  abundance 
of  artesian  water  for  use  when  needed.  It  has  been  a  common 
custom  in  this  artesian  belt,  so  noted  for  strawberries,  to  grow 
onions  on  the  ridges  between  strawberry  rows,  and  along  the  sides 
of  other  berry  bushes.  Onions  are  thus  grown  during  several  suc- 
cessive years  until  the  ground  is  too  crowded.  Beets,  carrots,  peas, 
and  other  vegetables  are  sometimes  grown  among  the  berries. 
Crops  of  onion  seed  have  been  grown  among  the  trees  of  young 
orchards  without  irrigation  and  the  trees  have  done  quite  as  well 
as  when  they  had  the  ground  all  to  themselves.  Free  use  of  the 
cultivator  has  kept  the  ground  loose  and  moist,  after  one  or  two 
plowings.  By  irrigating  in  the  fall,  the  ground  can  be  plowed  so 
as  to  start  peas,  potatoes,  onions  and  other  hardy  vegetables  for 
holiday  sale,  if  the  land  is  not  liable  to  flooding  in  the  late  fall  and 
has  only  light  frosts  until  mid-winter. 

Such  land  will  carry  all  growths  that  can  find  standing  room 
on  it,  and  fruit  trees  will  not  be  injured  by  the  inter-cropping. 
Similar  conditions  are  found  on  low,  moist  valley  lands  in  many 
parts  fcf  the  state,  both  in  the  coast  and  the  interior  valleys.  The 
land  has  such  wealth  of  plant  food  and  moisture  that  summer 
weed-killing,  which  is  not  common  in  California,  is  quite  a  prob- 
lem. Where  weeds  will  grow  in  spite  of  ordinarily  good  summer 
Cultivation,  the  land  will  stand  almost  covering  with  useful  plants 
and  it  costs  little  more  to  grow  them  than  to  keep  down  the  won- 
derful weeds. 

But  of  course  in  inter-cropping  all  soils  due  regard  must  be 
given  to  maintaining  fertility  by  manuring — even  very  rich  soil  will 
not  always  endure  inter-cropping,  and  poor  soil  will  soon  make  it 
unprofitable.  Where  hardy  legumes  like  peas  and  brood  beans  can 
be  grown  to  advantage  their  roots  and  straw  add  to  fertility  and 
they  may  pay  their  way  thereby.  But  as  a  rule,  inter-cropping 
should  be  undertaken,  if  at  all,  on  a  basis  of  generous  manuring 
and  ample  water  supply  at  low  cost.  The  effort  also  demands 
definite  knowledge  of  the  handling  which  the  crop  requires — other- 
wise a  man  is  apt  to  emerge  from  a  speculative  venture  at  inter- 
cropping with  more  wisdom  than  money. 


CHAPTER    X. 
THE  PLANTING  SEASON. 

The  chapter  on  California  climates  as  related  to  vegetable 
growing  has  already  shown  that  there  is  really  no  closed  season  in 
the  state  except  in  the  mountain  districts.  It  is  always  time  to 
plant  something,  if  the  moisture  is  available,  for  there  is  no  degree 
of  cold  realized  which  endangers  the  hardier  vegetables.  It  is 
true  that  in  December  and  January  in  the  regions  of  heavy  rainfall, 
there  is  apt  to  be  a  cold,  wet  surface  soil  which  does  not  give  a 
hospitable  welcome  either  to  seed  or  seedlings,  but  even  this  can  be 
overcome  by  using  lighter  soil  at  a  little  higher  elevation  or  by  the 
devices  for  raising  the  seed-bed  unless  one  wishes  to  wait  for  Febru- 
ary planting  as  is  commonly  done  in  such  places.  The  antithesis 
of  the  December  and  January  cold  is  the  July  and  August  heat 
and  drought  in  the  interior,  but  this,  too,  is  conquerable  by  irriga- 
tion, with  added  shade  for  some  tender-leafed  plants,  or  by  choos- 
ing moist,  low  land,  of  which  California  valleys  both  on  the  coast 
and  in  the  interior  have  great  areas.  The  conclusion  of  the  whole 
matter  is  that  California  valleys  and  foothills  are  naturally  fitted 
for  almost  endless  succession  of  sowings  and  gatherings  and  such 
temporary  unfitness  as  locally  occurs  is  easily  overcome  by  very 
simple  cultural  arts  and  provisions.  Still  there  are  best  times  for 
doing  things  for  specific  purposes  and  many  of  these  can  only  be 
learned  by  local  experience.  An  attempt  will  be  made,  however,  to 
give  hints  to  newcomers,  or  to  the  many  who  have  not  essayed 
vegetable  growing  and  have  thus  neglected  glorious  opportunities, 
which  will  enable  them  to  realize,  it  is  hoped,  some  direction  in 
which  promising  efforts  may  be  put  forth. 

Seasonable  Work  in  the  Garden. — In  view  of  the  fact  already 
emphasized  that  the  planting  season  extends  throughout  the  year 
and  is  regulated  by  local  conditions  and  not  by  the  calendar,  it  fol- 
lows that  other  garden  work  constantly  recurs,  and  it  would  be  a 
hopeless  task  to  attempt  to  specify  certain  times  at  which  certain 
work  should  be  done.  The  vegetable  grower  must  use  his  own 
powers  of  observation  and  common  sense,  and  not  expect  to  find 
in  print  the  injunction  that  on  a  certain  day  he  must  do  a  certain 
thing.  It  may  be  possible  to  make  such  prescriptions  in  more 
steady-going  climates,  but  in  our  diverse  local  climates,  which  are 
either  forcing  or  retarding,  according  to  localities,  and  according 
to  times  of  the  year  in  the  same  locality,  it  is  impossible  to  say  just 
when  a  crop  planted  at  a  certain  time  should  be  hoed  or  cultivated, 
trained  up  or  gathered,  and  the  ground  cleared  up  for  other  uses. 
All  such  acts  will  be  omitted  from  our  California  garden  calendar. 
[92] 


THINGS   ALWAYS  DESIRABLE  93 

Let  it  be  understood,  rather,  that  the  grower  must  be  always  on  the 
alert  to  do  certain  things  without  suggestion  from  any  one,  viz. : 

First :  Stir  the  ground  as  soon  as  it  will  take  tools  well  after 
the  young  plants  have  appeared  above  the  surface,  and  thin  the 
plants  in  the  row  to  allow  proper  space  for  attaining  good  size. 
With  some  strong  growing  shoots  from  large,  deeply  covered  seeds, 
it  may  be  sometimes  desirable  to  lightly  harrow  or  rake  the  whole 
surface  before  the  shoots  appear:  it  is  better  to  break  off  some 
shoots  than  to  have  them  all  under  a  crust.  Light,  mellow  soil  can, 
of  course,  be  raked  sooner  after  rain  or  irrigation  than  heavy  soil — 
the  latter  must  not  be  disturbed  when  sticky  or  sodden. 

Second :  Continue  stirring  afterward  whenever  the  soil  works 
well,  for  weed  killing  if  there  be  any;  if  not  stir  the  surface  just 
the  same. 

Third:  Continue  stirring  so  long  as  the  cultivator  does  not 
seriously  injure  the  plant  by  breaking  its  stems  and  foliage,  and 
then  use  the  hoe  carefully  to  prevent  the  ground  becoming  com- 
pacted near  the  stem  in  places  not  reached  by  the  cultivator. 

Fourth:  Keep  the  condition  of  the  plant  constantly  in  sight 
and  thought,  to  train  or  trim  its  growth  to  attain  best  results.  Such 
treatment  for  each  plant  will  naturally  be  noted  in  the  place  devoted 
to  its  special  consideration  later. 

Fifth:  Watch  for  the  attainment  of  such  degree  of  maturity 
as  makes  each  plant  most  desirable  for  food  purposes.  The  slack 
gardener  is  apt  to  allow  his  vegetables  to  become  stale  or  over-ripe 
in  the  rows,  and  in  that  way  miss  their  best  estate. 

Sixth:  Gather  promptly  and  dispose  of  each,  either  by  eating 
or  selling,  when  it  reaches  this  condition  and  quickly  clear  away  the 
remains  of  the  growth  for  stock  feed  or  for  the  compost  heap. 
Do  not  allow  the  plants  to  stand  for  the  purpose  of  gathering  seed 
from  the  culls  which  are  rejected  at  picking.  Select  the  earliest  and 
best  specimens  for  seed  if  any  seed  is  to  be  saved.  It  is,  however, 
only  in  exceptional  cases  that  the  farm  gardener  should  save  his 
own  seed.  It  is  better  to  buy  up-to-date  varieties  from  those  who 
make  a  business  of  selection  and  improvement  of  garden  varieties. 
Keep  the  garden  always  clean  and  ready  for  something  else.  It 
is  a  mistake  to  let  the  garden  lie  neglected'  until  the  time  for  a 
spring  revolution  and  upheaval,  like  that  which  eastern  gardeners 
are  forced  to  content  themselves  with.  Of  course,  the  error  of 
stirring  the  soil  when  too  wet  must  be  carefully  guarded  against, 
but  there  is  much  besides  digging  involved  in  gardening. 

Seventh :  Irrigate,  if  necessary,  and  work  the  soil  at  once  after 
cleaning  up.  Do  not  lose  moisture  by  allowing  the  surface  to  be- 
come hard.  No  matter  whether  the  ground  is  to  be  used  for  an 
immediate  succession  or  whether  it  is  to  lie  for  some  time,  break 
up  the  surface  and  make  it  fit  to  receive  water  or  retain  water,  as 
the  case  may  be. 


94  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

These  timely  and  important  acts  will  not  appear  in  our  cal- 
endar for  the  reasons  first  stated.  They  are  always  in  order  in 
California,  and  if  a  man  has  to  be  told  more  than  once  to  do  them, 
there  are  serious  doubts  of  his  ever  having  been  called  to  be  a 
vegetable  grower. 

CALIFORNIA  GARDEN   CALENDAR. 

As  shown  in  the  chapter  on  climate,  the  timeliness  of  certain 
operations  in  California  is  not  regulated  by  geography  nor  latitude, 
but  by  topography  and  environment,  by  moisture-conditions,  either 
natural  or  acquired,  and  by  the  beginning  and  ending  of  the  frost- 
free  period.  The  broken  country  of  the  northwest  quarter  of  the 
state,  and  the  mountain  elevations  which  are  everywhere  liable  to 
snowfall,  constitute  regions  which  differ  from  the  coast  valley,  in- 
terior valley  and  foothill  regions  both  north  and  south,  and  are, 
therefore,  to  a  certain  degree  out  of  our  calculation,  though  an  effort 
will  be  made  to  include  some  recognition  of  their  practice.  The 
outline  to  be  made  of  timely  work  is  intended  to  cover  the  state  in 
all  parts  except  where  wintry  conditions  in  greater  or  less  degree 
intrude. 

Our  seasons,  shading  into  each  other  without  striking  division 
lines,  make  it  necessary  to  select  a  somewhat  arbitrary  point  of 
beginning  for  a  garden  calendar.  The  point  midway  between  the 
closing  of  one  rainy  season  and  the  beginning  of  another  is,  by 
virtue  of  its  drought^and-heat-effects  on  the  rainfall  garden,  and 
its  heat-effects  even  on  ground  kept  moist  by  irrigation  or  under- 
flow, the  time  when  garden  growth  is  about  at  its  lowest  point.  It 
is  also  a  time  when  preparations  are  to  be  made  for  the  earliest 
sowing.  The  arrangement  is  somewhat  arbitrary,  as  confessed 
above,  but  it  accords  best  with  all  matters  involved  to  look  upon 
the  month  of  July  as  the  beginning  of  the  California  year  in  vege- 
table growing.- 

JULY. 

On  ground  moistened  anew  by  underflow  from  rising  rivers 
or  by  percolation  from  irrigation  ditches  on  higher  orchard  slopes, 
or  on  land  cleared  of  an  earlier  crop,  irrigated  and  well  worked,  it 
is  possible  to  plant  vegetables  in  July  for  late  fall  or  winter  use. 
String  beans,  beets,  carrots,  corn,  peas,  parsnips,  potatoes,  salsify, 
squashes,  turnips,  etc.,  will  all  come  on  rapidly  if  adequate  moisture 
is  furnished  and  frosts  are  reasonably  late.  Melons  are  also  suc- 
cess fuly  thus  sown  and  with  heat  enough  will  mature  in  Septem- 
ber from  July  planting.  Near  the  coast,  or  in  the  interior,  with 
shade,  cucumbers,  lettuce,  radishes  and  other  salads  will  thrive. 
Cabbage  and  cauliflower  seed  sown  in  proper  beds  or  boxes,  soon 
give  plants  for  later  setting  which  will  mature  for  Christmas  and 


WAYS  WITH  THE  MONTHS  95 

on  through  the  early  winter;  if  not  caught  by  frost,  tomatoes  will 
also  come  through  from  such  a  start. 

AUGUST. 

Corn  and  potatoes  planted  in  August  may  still  have  time  to 
reach  satisfactory  condition  of  maturity,  except  where  frosts  are 
expected  early.  Cabbage  and  cauliflower  seed  will  give  plants  for 
proper  winter  succession ;  turnips  on  irrigated  ground  will  also  give 
winter  crop.  Onion  seed  may  be  sown  for  sets.  August  is  a  sort 
of  divide  in  garden  work.  It  is  rather  late  to  sow  for  fall  use  and 
rather  soon  to  sow  for  winter  use,  and  still  August  planting  is  prac- 
ticed by  many  where  local  conditions  take  kindly  to  it. 

SEPTEMBER. 

Planting  must  still  proceed  upon  moisture  by  irrigation,  and 
planting  for  early  winter  use  is  still  in  order.  The  soil  should  be 
soaked  deeply — to  a  depth  of  two  feet,  so  that  seedlings  in  the  case 
of  delayed  rain  may  have  moisture  rising  from  below  to  keep  them 
going.  But  irrigation  must  also  be  used  as  needed  in  addition  to  the 
initial  soaking.  Seeds  should  usually  be  covered  a  little  more  deeply 
than  later  in  the  rainy  season.  Peas  started  with  irrigation  and  car- 
ried until  rainfall  is  adequate  will  be  ready  for  Christmas  in  regions 
where  only  light  frosts  occur,  for  peas  are  quite  hardy.  Cabbage 
and  cauliflower  should  be  sown  in  the  seedbed  for  succession  of 
plants — in  some  places  they  grow  slowly  and  can  be  taken  out  for 
planting  until  February.  Beets  and  salsify  will  start  for  use  the 
following  spring  time  and  early  summer,  and  potatoes  will  be  "new" 
for  the  holidays.  Lettuce  and  onions  can  be  sown  in  place  or  plants 
may  be  grown  in  a  seed  bed  for  planting  out  after  the  rains  come. 
In  strictly  f  rostless  places,  string  beans,  egg  plant,  and  tomatoes  are 
planted  for  very  early  crop. 

OCTOBER. 

It  is  still  time  to  plant  beets,  cabbage,  radishes,  spinach,  onions, 
lettuce,  turnips  and  salsify  for  midwinter  and  spring  use.  Peas  of 
early  variety  may  still  make  the  Christmas  table  in  a  favorable 
locality.  Beans,  egg  plant,  andjomatoes  are  still  sown  for  early 
crop  in  frostless  places. 

NOVEMBER. 

Still  plant  for  succession.  Eeas,  lettuce,  radishes,  cabbage, 
onions,  beets,  spinach,  salsify,  turnips.  The  coast  valleys  are  now 
usually  moist  enough  to  carry  all  these  hardy  vegetables  without 


96  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

irrigation,  for  late  winter  and  early  spring  use.  ^aparagus  roots 
are  in  shape  for  planting.  Potatoes,  in  places  with  only  light  frosts, 
and  beans,  egg  plant  and  tomatoes,  in  frostless  places,  are  planted 
for  early  crop. 

DECEMBER. 

The  higher  lands  of  the  interior  valley  are  usually  ready  for 
the  rainfall  garden.  Beets,  cabbage,  cauliflower,  carrots,  lettuce, 
onions,  peas,  radishes,  spinach  and  turnips  are  hardy,  though  some 
roots  sown  at  this  time  will  in  some  places  go  to  seed  in  the  spring 
instead  of  enlarging.  Potatoes  are  planted  on  slopes,  well  out  of 
hard  frosts.  In  northerly  coast  valleys  the  soil  is  often  too  cold 
and  we't  to  make  seed  sowing  wise.  In  such  places  the  growth  gets 
a  poor  start.  This  depends  greatly,  however,  upon  the  character 
of  the  rainy  season  for  that  particular  year. 

JANUARY. 

On  warmer,  drier  valley  lands  in  regions  of  light  rainfall  or 
on  protected  hillsides  plantings  of  beets,  cabbage,  carrots,  peas,  tur- 
nips, lettuce,  radishes  and  onions  are  usually  wise.  In  colder  re- 
gions lettuce  and  onions  and  radishes  are  hardy,  and  thrive  if  raised 
out  of  the  wet,  and  cabbage,  cauliflower,  peppers,  celery,  tomato 
seed  should  go  into  seed  beds  to  grow  plants  for  later  planting  out. 
Asparagus,  horesradish  and  rhubarb  roots  can  be  planted  out  in 
well-drained  ground.  It  is  the  first  great  potato  planting  month  for 
regions  of  light  rainfall  or  on  warm,  well-drained  slopes  in  regions 
of  heavier  rains.  But  on  low  valley  lands  in  wet  regions,  January 
is  often  stormy  and  cold  for  open-air  work,  as  has  just  been  said 
of  December. 

FEBRUARY. 

February  is  the  great  planting  month,  for  everything  but  the 
very  tender  plants,  like  beans,  tomatoes,  peppers,  the  squash  family, 
etc.,  can  now  proceed  with  assurance  of  adequate  heat  and  moisture. 
It  is  the  month  for  the  dilatory  man  who  has  missed  his  earliest 
opportunities  to  fill  the  ground  with  seed  of  hardy  vegetables,  and 
it  is  the  time  when  plantings  in  small  frosty  and  rainy  valleys,  which 
have  been  deferred  because  the  ground  was  too  cold  and  wet  to 
start  seeds  and  plants  well,  may  be  confidently  made.  Successions 
and  rotations  are  in  order,  as  the  fall-planted  vegetables  are  cleared 
away.  Early  small  plantings  of  string-beans,  melons  and  cucumbers 
will  often  carry  through  or  can  be  easily  replanted  if  the  frost 
catches  them.  Potatoes  are  widely  planted  and  will  seldom  be 


Univ.  of  Cal.  Experiment  Station 

Pulling  celery  plants  from  seed-bed  and  transplanting  to  deep  furrows 
in  the  field.— Page  180. 


WAYS   WITH   THE   MONTHS  97 

killed,  though  they  may  be  cut  back,  except  on  low  ground,  which 
should  be  planted  later.  Chicory  is  sown,  and  sowing  of  sugar  beets 
as  a  field  crop  for  the  factory,  begins  in  February,  on  the  warmer, 
drier  lands. 


MARCH. 

Later  plantings  of  all  sorts  of  hardy  vegetables  for  succes- 
sion is  pursued.  The  venturesome  on  higher,  warmer  lands  try 
corn,  melons,  squashes,  tomatoes,  and  continue  planting  beans. 
Cantaloups  are  planted  for  main 'crop  in  Imperial  valley.  Sugar 
beets  are  largely  sown  for  factory  use.  Sweet  potatoes  should  go 
into  the  hot-bed  for  slipping. 

APRIL. 

April  is  another  month  for  succession  planting  of  hardy  vege- 
tables, but  it  is  getting  late  except  where  moisture  is  ample  and  late 
showers  quite  certain.  Tender  plants  are  out  of  serious  danger 
except  in  especially  frosty  places.  Beans  can  be  confidently  planted. 
Peppezs,  tomatoes,  egg  plant,  sweet  potatoes  and  other  growths 
started  under  cover  can  be  brought  to  the  open  ground.  Corn, 
melons  and  squashes  can  be  safely  planted  as  field  crops.  The  sea- 
son's race  is  well  along  in  its  last  quarter,  and  heat  and  drought  have 
already  made  hay  and  are  ripening  the  grain. 

MAY. 

Everything  for  which  there  can  be  assured  ample  moisture 
can  still  be  planted  in  the  moderate  heat  of  the  coast  regions,  but 
it  is  late  for  shallow-rooting  plants  to  take  hold  in  the  interior  heat, 
even  with  irrigation.  Heat-loving  plants,  like  watermelons,  corn, 
sweet  potatoes,  etc.,  will  grow  grandly  with  moisture  enough.  On 
the  coast,  Lima  beans,  sugar  beets  for  late  crop,  corn  and  roots  for 
fall  use  will  do  well  if  well  cultivated.  All  planting  now  which  is 
well  taken  care  of  will  carry  its  verdure  and  its  crop  to  refresh  the 
grower  in  the  midst  of  the  dry  season.  It  is  a  time  to  seek  and  use 
moist  land  or  to  count  on  soon  employing  the  fullest  irrigation 
facilities  the  place  affords. 

JUNE. 

June  completes  the  garden  year.  It  is  the  last  chance  to  plant, 
and  it  is  useless  to  plant  at  all  except  on  land  moist  naturally  or 
by  irrigation.  On  such  lands  in  the  interior  beans  are  largely 
planted  and  tomatoes  for  late  crop  on  moist  land  are  started  from 
seed-bed  plants.  It  is  the  last  chance  to  get  a  second  crop  on  land 


98  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

which  has  given  produce.  In  the  garden  clear  up  all  that  has 
matured  of  the  winter  plantings,  irrigate  well,  plow  and  quickly 
fine  the  surface  and  put  in  beans,  beets,  cabbage  plants,  corn,  melons, 
potatoes,  squash,  tpjnato^dajits,  and  a  succession  of  small  truck,  and 
be  sure  that  they  do  not  lack  moisture,  or  their  courses  will  be  short 
and  unprofitable. 

TABULAR  SHOWINGS  OF  TIMES  OF  PLANTING. 

To  afford  the  reader  a  condensed  view  of  the  facts  noted  in 
the  foregoing  suggestions  for  the  months,  tabular  showings  are  pre- 
pared. These  are  not  made  from  theoretical  generalizations,  but 
are  prepared  from  records  of  actual  practice  which  the  writer  has 
been  collecting  for  the  last  forty  years.  The  work  of  several  hun- 
dred growers  is  condensed  into  the  tables  which  follow.  Separate 
showings  are  made  for  southern  California  and  for  the  valley  and 
foothill  portions  of  the  upper  part  of  the  state.  It  will  be  seen  that 
they  strikingly  agree.  There  are  practically  frostless  regions  near 
the  coast  in  southern  California  which  are  not  found  elsewhere  in 
the  state,  although  it  is  only  with  the  tenderest  growths  that  the 
difference  becomes  apparent.  Other  vegetables  take  about  the  same 
courses  in  early  regions,  both  north  and  south.  Still  it  is  well  to 
reduce  the  fact  to  a  set  of  records  such  as  these  tables  embody. 

TIMES  FOR  PLANTING  CERTAIN  VEGETABLES  IN  VALLEY  AND  FOOTHILL 
REGIONS  OF  SOUTHERN   CALIFORNIA. 


Beans 
Beets 


Celery 
Corn 


1 

is  
s  

s 

* 
* 

P.     •*-*      ^ 
cu       o       o 

co     O     £ 

*2         *2         *2 

c3       c      ,0 

0)           Oj           <D 

Q        •—  ^      Pn 
*3 

1  'a  | 
^  <^  ^ 

*3         *           * 

G 
* 

3age  
ots  

* 

*           * 

ry  

•  • 

*           *           * 

* 

i  

* 

*3 

*3         *           * 

* 

imbers.  . 

*3 

*           * 

* 

Eggplant *2      ..      *2      *2      *2      

Lettuce *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *  *  *  *  * 

Melons *       *3  *s  *  *  * 

Onions *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *  *  *  *  * 

Peas *       *       *       *       *       *  *  *  * 

Potatoes *       *       *       *2      *2      ..      *       *  *  *  *  * 

Potatoes,  Sweet *  *  * 

Radishes ************ 

Salsify ....      *  *  *  *  * 

Spinach *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *  *  *  *  * 

Squash *       *3  *  *  * 

""""Tomatoes ......  '. '.  '. '.  '. '. '. '.  '.  *2      *2      *2      *2      *2      '. '.     ***     *a  *s  *  *  * 

Turnips. ..'..'.'...........  *       ..     *      *      *      *'     *       *  *  *  *  * 


1  On  naturally  moist  or  irrigated  land. 

*  Frostless  situations  near  southern  coast. 

1  Taking  the  chances  of  occasional  frost  and  replanting  in  some  places. 


TIMES  FOR  PLANTING  99 

TIMES  FOR  PLANTING  CERTAIN  VEGETABLES  IN  VALLEY  AND  FOOTHILL 
REGIONS   OF   CENTRAL  AND   NORTHERN    CALIFORNIA. 


Beans 

Beets 

Cabbage . . , 
Carrots .  .  . 
Cauliflower 

Celery 

Corn. . , 


II i i i  a  ill ! !  1 


*  * 


*  *  *       *       *       * 

*  *  *       *       *       * 
*  *       * 


* 


Cucumbers 

Eggplant " 

Lettuce *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       * 

Melons *       * 

Onions ..      *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       * 

Peas..  ******** 


* 


* 


Potatoes,  Sweet *  *  *  * 

Radishes *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *       *  *  *  * 

Salsify *       *       *  *  .... 

Spinach *       *       *       

Squash *       *  *  * 

Tomatoes ]  *  *  * 

Turnips *       *       ..     *       *       ..      *       *       *  *  *  * 

THE  FROST  FACTOR. 

The  intrusion  of  the  frost  period  is  a  local  limitation  of  the 
planting  season.  Each  vegetable  grower  should  keep  records  of 
frost  occurrence  for  his  own  guidance  in  future  operations  and  for 
the  public  benefit,  for  the  government  weather  service  is  very 
anxious  to  get  local  observations  on  this  point. 

During  the  last  decade  the  San  Francisco  office  of  the  United 
States  Weather  Bureau  has  given  particular  attention  to  frost 
phenomena,  including  conditions  of  occurrence  and  prevention,  and 
the  publications  by  the  Bureau  comprise  the  best  knowledge  on  the 
subject. 

The  discussion  in  the  chapter  on  California  Climate  as  Related 
to  Vegetable  Growing  shows  that  weather  conditions  are  every- 
where dependent  to  a  degree  on  local  topography  and  environment, 
even  though  there  are  regional  characters  which  must  be  under- 
stood. In  this  place  it  is  fitting  to  emphasize  especially  the  dates 
at  which  killing  frosts  have  occurred  in  a  large  number  of  localities, 
because  such  dates  are  seldom  accurately  remembered  even  in  the 
localities  concerned.  The  table  which  we  have  compiled  and  ar- 
ranged in  our  own  way,  according  to  districts,  from  data  kindly 
furnished  by  the  Weather  Bureau,  should  be  studied  with  the  fol- 
lowing points  in  view : 

4  On  irrigated  or  naturally  moist  low  land. 


100  CALIFORNIA   VEGETABLES 

First.  The  dates  represent  the  first  and  last  dates  of  killing 
frosts  in  each  place  during  a  decade.  In  most  cases  probably  the 
dates  are  not  in  the  same  year.  We  wish  to  show  the  "worst  ever" 
at  each  place. 

Second.  Obviously,  then,  frosts  at  such  dates  are  not  to  be 
often  expected,  and  planters  may  usually  take  the  risk  of  planting 
somewhat  earlier  and  having  tender  plants  mature  somewhat  later, 
as  will  be  discussed  in  the  next  chapter.  At  the  same  time  large 
plantings  for  a  main  or  standard  crop  should  be  generally  held  back 
for  the  local  frost-free  period  which  the  dates  in  the  tables  supply 
for  each  place. 

Third.  Always  remember,  however,  that  there  may  be  situa- 
tions adjacent  to  the  place  where  the  record  is  made  in  which  frost 
may  be  earlier  or  later,  or  both,  according  to  the  variations  in  local 
topography,  exposure,  etc.,  as  explained  in  the  chapter  on  Climate. 
There  are  also  a  few  widely  separated  situations  which  may  be  con- 
sidered almost,  if  not  quite,  frostless. 

Fourth.  The  tables  give  the  elevation  in  feet  above  sea  level 
in  each  case.  This  factor  does  influence  frost  occurrence  in  a  large 
way,  but  local  frost  phenomena  are  often  determined  by  the  relative 
elevation  of  situations  in  the  same  vicinity  and  by  other  conditions 
of  topography  affecting  the  movement  of  cold  air  and  counter  cur- 
rents, perhaps,  of  warm  air. 

Fifth.  Thus  it  should  appear  that  after  all  the  writer  can  do 
to  help  the  reader  determine  what  his  planting  practice  should  be 
with  reference  to  frost  occurrence,  it  still  remains  with  the  latter  to 
do  all  that  he  can  to  understand  his  immediate  spot  of  land  through 
the  teaching  of  his  own  observation  and  experience. 

DATES  OF  SPRING  AND   FALL   KILLING   FROSTS  AT   PLACES    NAMED. 

Latest  Earliest 

LOCATION  AND  COUNTY  Elevation  Spring  Autumn 

Upper  Coast  Region 

Crescent  City,  Del  Norte 50  June  19  Sept.  30 

Eureka,  Humboldt 64  May  1  Nov.  7 

Upper  Mattole,  Humboldt 244  Apr.  26  Oct.  20 

Ukiah,  Mendocino 620  May  2  Oct.  16 

Fort  Bragg,  Mendocino 74  Mar.  18  Nov.  5 

Fort  Ross,  Sonoma 100  Mar.  21  Dec.  18 

Cloverdale,  Sonoma 340  Mar.  25  Nov.  2 

Santa  Rosa,  Sonoma 181  May  10  Oct.  29 

Peachland,  Sonoma 220  Apr.  11  Oct.  18 

Sonoma,  Sonoma 30  Apr.  12  Dec.  2 

Calistoga,  Napa 363  May  1  Oct.  1 

Napa,  Napa 60  Mar.  30  Nov.  7 

Upper  Lake,  Lake 1350  Apr.  23  Sept.  29 

Sacramento  Valley  and  Foothills 

Redding,  Shasta. .  552  May       1  Oct.      17 

Red  Bluff,  Tehama 307  Apr.     19  Nov.      7 

Rosewood,  Tehama 865  Apr.     12  Oct.       4 


DATES   OF   FROST  OCCURRENCE  101 

Latest  Earliest 

LOCATION  AND  COUNTY  Elevation              Spring  Autumn 

Sacramento  Valley  and  Foothills 

— Continued 

Corning,  Tehama 277  Mar.  26  Nov.  2 

Chico,  Butte 193  Apr.  10  Nov.  6 

Durham,  Butte 160  Apr.  4  Oct.  22 

Biggs,  Butte 98  May  10  Nov.  23 

Oroville,  Butte 250  Apr.  30  Nov.  23 

Palermo,  Butte 213  Apr.  7  Nov.  14 

Fruto,  Glenn 624  Apr.  4  Nov.  23 

Willows,  Glenn 136  Apr.  26  Nov.  28 

Dunnigan,  Yolo 65  Feb.  25  Nov.  24 

Guinda,  Yolo 350  May  1  Nov.  16 

Woodland,  Yolo 63  Apr.  26  Nov.  26 

Davis,  Yolo fl  Apr.  ~f  Oct.  22 

Vacaville,  Solano 175  Apr.  4  Nov.  24 

Elmira,  Solano Apr.  4  Oct.  26 

Suisun,  Solano 20  Apr.  4  Nov.  1 3 

Sacramento,  Sacramento 35  Apr.  26  Oct.  17 

Folsom,  Sacramento 252  Apr.  11  Nov.  24 

Wheatland,  Yuba 84  Apr.  9  Nov.  7 

Auburn,  Placer 1360  May  2  Oct.  15 

Colfax,  Placer 2421  May  1  Dec.  5 

Eldorado,  Eldorado 1609  Apr.  26  Dec.  20 

Placerville,  Eldorado 1820  Apr.  28  Nov.  28 

Georgetown,  Eldorado 2650  May  1  Oct.  15 

Nevada  City,  Nevada 2580  May  30  Sept.  29 

North  Bloomfield,  Nevada 3200  May  22  Oct.  1 

Jackson,  Amador 1900  Apr.  28  Oct.  14 

Central  Coast  Region 

San  Francisco,  San  Francisco 207  Mar.  27  Dec.  18 

Oakland,  Alameda 36  Feb.  15*  Dec.  15- 

Berkeley,  Alameda 320  Feb.  19"  Dec.  14- 

Niles,  Alameda 87  Apr.  29  Oct.  17 

San  Leandro,  Alameda 50  Mar.  28  Nov.  24 

Livermore,  Alameda 485  (  Apr.  12  Nov.  9 

Menlo  Park,  San  Mateo 64  Feb.  13*  Dec.  18  • 

San  Jose,  Santa  Clara 95  Apr.  9  Oct.  22 

Santa  Clara,  Santa  Clara 90  Apr.  9  Nov.  24 

Los  Gatos,  Santa  Clara 600  Mar.  8  Dec.  9 

Gilroy,  Santa  Clara 193  May  11  Nov.  6 

Santa  Cruz,  Santa  Cruz 20  Apr.  1  Nov.  23 

Laurel,  Santa  Cruz 910  Mar.  12  Oct.  24 

Aptos,  Santa  Cruz 102  Mar.  31  Oct.  31 

Watsonville,  Santa  Cruz 23  Apr.  8  Sept.  22 

Hollister,  San  Benito 284  Apr.  22  Oct.  17 

Salinas,  Monterey 40  Apr.  1  Nov.  21 

Soledad,  Monterey 183  Feb.  13*  Nov.  30 

San  Ardo,  Monterey 236  Apr.  10  Dec.  9 

San  Miguel,  San  Luis  Obispo 616  Mar.  8  Oct.  22 

Paso  Robles,  San  Luis  Obispo 800  Apr.  26  Oct.  30 

San  Luis  Obispo,  San  Luis  Obispo 201  May  18  Oct.  18 

San  Joaquin  Valley  and  Foothills 

Antioch,  Contra  Costa 46  Feb.  1-  Dec.  5- 

Lodi,  San  Joaquin 35  Apr.  9  Oct.  18 

Tracy,  San  Joaquin 64  Mar.  14  Nov.  24 

Milton,  Calaveras 660  Apr.  7  Nov.  29 

Mokelumne,  Calaveras 1550  Apr.  28  Nov.  17 


102 


CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 


LOCATION  AND  COUNTY 

San  Joaquin  Valley  and  Foothills 

— Continued 


Elevation 


Latest 
Spring 


Earliest 
Autumn 


West  Point,  Calaveras 2326  June  IS  Oct.  7 

Jackson,  Amador 1900  Apr.  28  Oct.  14 

Merced,  Merced 173  Mar.  28  Nov.  28 

Fresno,  Fresno 293  Mar.  31  Nov.  11 

Selma,  Fresno 311  Mar.  31  Oct.  20 

Kingsburg,  Fresno 301  Apr.  28  Dec.  23 

Hanford,  Kings 249  Apr.  29  Oct.  25 

Visalia,  Tulare 334  Apr.  11  Nov.  16 

Lemon  Grove,  Tulare 600  Feb.  16  Dec.  9 

Porterville,  Tulare 461  Mar.  10  Nov.  26 

Tulare,  Tulare 274  Apr.  11  Oct.  20 

Dinuba,  Tulare 335  May  2  Nov.  27 

Southern  California 

Santa  Barbara,  Santa  Barbara 130  Mar.  18  Nov.  30 

Santa  Paula,  Ventura 350  Feb.  16  Dec.  12 

Los  Angeles,  Los  Angeles 293  Mar.  9  Dec.  13 

Anaheim,  Orange 134  Apr.  17  Dec.  12 

Riverside,  Riverside 851  Apr.  2  Nov.  12 

San  Jacinto,  Riverside 1550  Apr.  8  Nov.  25 

Redlands,  San  Bernardino 1352  Apr.  9  Nov.  24 

Escondido,  San  Diego 657  Mar.  18  Dec.  7 

Poway,  San  Diego 460  Feb.  15  Nov.  18 

El  Cajon,  San  Diego 482  Mar.  14  Nov.  19 

Campo,  San  Diego 2543  June  17  Sept.  17 

Mountain  Regions 

Sisson,  Siskiyou 3555  July  6  Sept.  13 

Cedarville,  Modoc 4675  June  24  Aug.  30 

Susanville,  Lassen 4195  June  22  Sept.  8 

Laporte,  Plumas 5000  July  6  Sept.  6 

Greenville,  Plumas 3600  June  11  Aug.  20 

Boca,  Nevada 5531  May  1  Oct.  2 

Summerdale,  Mariposa 5270  June  15  Sept.  25 

Lick  Observatory,  Santa  Clara 4209  May  25  Oct.  2 

Tehachapi,  Kern 3964  Apr.  11  Nov.  20 

Cuyamaca,  San  Diego 4543  July  11  Sept.  5 

The  general  reader,  after  studying  the  foregoing  data,  may 
conclude  that  in  nearly  all  the  valley  districts  of  California  there  is 
little  difference  in  the  length  of  the  absolute  frost-free  period;  also 
that  elevation  influences  temperature  similarly  in  all  parts  of  the 
state.  At  elevations  below  1500  feet,  which  is  the  point  at  which 
foothills  begin  to  shade  into  mountains,  there  are  about  two-thirds 
of  the  whole  year  in  which  even  the  tenderest  vegetation  may  be 
considered  practically  safe  from  injury  from  frost,  and  particular 
situations  in  which  the  frost-free  period  is  even  longer.  On  the 
other  hand,  there  are  mountain  valleys,  with  good  soil  and  sunshine 
and  ample  total  heat  for  vegetables,  in  which  tender  plants  must 
be  always  protected,  because  frost  may  occur  every  month  in  the 
year. 


VEGETABLES  AND  FROST  103 

The  Endurance  of  Different  Vegetables. — The  degree  of  cold 
which  plants  will  survive  depends  upon  several  considerations  and 
conditions,  involving  state  of  air,  moisture  and  of  the  plant  itself, 
which  makes  it  impossible  to  fix  the  injury  point  of  a  plant  definitely. 
There  is,  however,  practical  value  in  the  following  compilation  made 
from  reports  by  Pacific  Coast  growers  as  to  the  effect  of  our  style 
of  low  temperatures,  the  temperatures  being  given  as  nearly  as  pos- 
sible those  in  contact  with  the  plant  itself. 

TEMPERATURE   AT   WHICH    CERTAIN    PLANTS   ARE   LIABLE   TO   RECEIVE 
INJURY    FROM    FROSTS. 

Plant  Degrees  Fahrenheit  Plant  Degrees  Fahrenheit 

Asparagus   29  Beans    31 

Cantaloups 32  Celery  28 

Cucumbers 32  Onions    28 

Potatoes  30  Sweet  Potatoes   31 

Spinach    21  Squash    31 

Turnips 26  Watermelons    31 

Not  Always  Freezing  at  32  Degrees. — In  connection  with  the 
endurance  of  vegetables,  it  should  be  noted  that  in  parts  of  Cali- 
fornia freezing  effects  are  not  produced  by  a  temperature  of  32 
degrees.  This  is  in  accordance  with  a  deduction  from  wide  studies 
of  frost  occurrence  by  P.  C.  Day,  Chief  of  Climatological  Division 
of  the  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau,  as  follows:  "Cool  nights  are  a  fea- 
ture of  all  arid  regions,  due  to  intense  radiation  made  possible  by 
the  generally  clear  skies  and  lack  of  moisture  in  the  atmosphere. 
As  a  result  of  these  conditions  the  temperature  in  the  early  morning 
hours  may  frequently  reach  the  freezing  point,  but  its  continuance 
may  not  be  for  a  length  of  time  sufficient  to  injure  the  plant  struc- 
ture ;  in  fact,  owing  to  the  dryness  of  the  air,  frost  does  not  always 
form  with  a  temperature  of  32  degrees  or  even  several  degrees 
lower,  and  in  addition  plant  life  subjected  to  such  variations  in  tem- 
perature becomes  more  hardy  and  lower  temperatures  are  required 
to  cause  serious  injury.  On  the  other  hand,  in  the  more  humid 
regions  the  radiation  at  night  is  less  rapid,  the  nights  as  a  rule  are 
not  so  markedly  cold,  plant  life  is  less  hardy,  frost  forms  readily 
at  the  freezing  point,  the  same  degree  of  cold  is  often  protracted 
over  much  longer  periods  of  time,  and  vegetation  is,  therefore, 
more  seriously  affected/'* 

SUCCESSIONS  AND  ROTATIONS  IN  CALIFORNIA  GARDENS. 

Naturally,  an  all-the-year  growing  season  suggests  constant  use 
of  the  ground  and  the  possibility  of  turning  the  soil  over  several 
times  in  the  course  of  the  year.  This  can  be  done  by  quick  revolu- 
tion, like  the  following: 

Where  water  is  handy  two,  three,  or  even  four  crops  can  be  grown  on  the 
same  ground  in  the  year.    Start  April  1  and  sow  the  plot  to  lettuce,  and  with 

*Frost  data  of  the  United  States  Bulletin  V,  U.  S.  Weather  Bureau,  1911. 


104  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

proper  cultivation  it  will  mature  in  two  months.  Resow  with  turnip-radish, 
which  is  a  good  summer  variety.  These  will  be  fit  to  use  in  three  weeks,  or 
by  the  first  week  of  July,  when  the  ground  will  be  ready  for  late  cucumbers 
which  will  occupy  the  ground  until  the  first  frost,  or  till  the  nights  become  too 
cold  for  them  to  fruit.  Now  plant  to  carrots,  beets,  or  onion  sets,  and  any  of 
them  will  be  ready  for  use  in  February  or  March.  Here  we  have  four  crops 
within  twelve  months,  and  no  two  of  them  occupying  the  ground  at  the  same 
time.  There  are  other  combinations  that  would  do  as  well. 

Though  this  rapid  work  is  quite  feasible,  as  shown,  and  many 
plants  can  enter  into  such  combinations,  the  two  crop  plan  will  prob- 
ably be  as  fast  movement  as  most  farm  gardeners  will  keep  up  with, 
and  that  consists  in  fall  sowing  of  hardy  vegetables  for  winter  and 
spring  use,  followed  by  spring  planting  of  tender  vegetables  for 
summer  and  fall  use.  Occasionally  there  will  be  intervals  in  this 
rotation  for  a  third  or  catch  crop  of  lettuce,  radish,  etc.,  which  takes 
a  very  short  time.  This  will  be  a  vast  improvement  on  the  present 
popular  conception  of  gardening  possibilities,  and  if  the  hint  of  a 
fall  crop  of  tender  vegetables  like  melons,  beans,  corn,  etc.,  planted 
in  July  to  come  on  fast  in  the  heat,  followed  by  fall  planting  of  the 
hardy  list  for  winter  use,  these  two  crops  will  be  gained  before  the 
outbreak  of  the  usual  "garden  fever,"  which  rallies  all  garden  forces 
in  February  and  March.  The  agencies  to  demonstrate  this  broader 
conception  of  our  gardening  possibilities  are  Will  and  Work  and 
Water,  to  which  allusion  has  been  made  in  a  previous  chapter. 

Family  Garden  Programmes. — It  will  surprise  anyone  who 
carries  out  rapid  succession  of  plantings  to  see  how  much  desirable 
food  can  be  secured  from  a  very  small  area.  An  enthusiastic 
gardener  at  Lakeside,  San  Diego  county,  reported  that  his  garden 
of  fifty  feet  square  supplied  enough  vegetables,  excepting  potatoes, 
for  a  large  family,  and  required  less  than  half  a  day's  attention 
during  a  week.  He  grew  the  following  vegetables,  planting  each 
month  in  the  year  as  follows : 

January — After  the  20th,  turnips,  cabbage  seed,  carrots,  lettuce,  peas. 
February — Radishes,  beets,  salsify,  spinach,  onion  seed  or  sets. 
March — Potatoes  (in  field),  turnips,  cabbage,  lettuce,  peas,  cabbage  plants. 
April — Cucumbers,   watermelons,   muskmelons,    squashes,    tomato   plants, 
radishes,  beets,  salsify,  corn,  beans,  sweet  potatoes,  cabbage  seed. 
May — Carrots,  lettuce,  peas,  onion  seed  or  sets. 
June — Radishes,  beets,  beans,  corn,  salsify,  cabbage  plants. 
July — Carrots,  lettuce,  cabbage  seed. 
August — Potatoes  (in  field),  corn,  beans,  radishes. 
September — Cabbage  plants,  peas,  turnips,  salsify,  carrots. 
October — Beets,  beans,  onion  sets,  lettuce. 
November — Turnips,  spinach,  salsify. 
December — Winter  radishes,  peas,  lettuce. 

He  has  the  advantage  of  a  very  short  period  of  frosts,  and 
light  ones  at  that.  He  plants  in  rows  eighteen  inches  apart,  irri- 
gates his  garden  every  ten  days  in  trenches  and  cultivates  twice  a 
week.  In  favorable  seasons  he  has  natural  moisture  from  Novem- 
ber to  April  or  May.  If  the  rainfall  is  light  he  cultivates  twice 
a  week. 


SUCCESSION  OF  VEGETABLES  105 

Another  arrangement  for  succession  is  that  practiced  by  a 
vineyardist  in  the  Santa  Cruz  mountains,  who  grows  vegetables  in 
his  vineyard.  He  plows  one  furrow  in  the  center,  between  the  vines, 
manured  in  the  furrow  and  covered  with  a  furrow  plowed  each 
side.  The  bed  thus  formed  is  planted  in  November  with  a  row 
thickly  sown,  of  American  Wonder  Peas,  covered  with  the  rake, 
making  a  smooth  place  where,  about  four  inches  from  the  peas,  are 
planted  cabbage,  Chinese  Rose  Winter  radishes,  onions,  lettuce  and 
turnip  seed,  mixed.  Other  sowings,  adding  carrots,  beans,  etc.,  are 
made,  according  to  the  weather,  until  May.  In  February  he  gathers 
radishes  and  lettuce ;  in  March,  peas.  He  sells  or  gives  away  bushels 
of  lettuce  and  radishes,  and  has  enough  to  supply  a  big  family  from 
March  1  to  July.  As  late  as  November  he  gathers  beets,  carrots, 
turnips  and  string  beans.  He  has  the  advantage  of  a  larger  winter 
rainfall,  and  conserves  moisture  by  cultivating  between  the  rows 
every  week  in  dry  weather. 


CHAPTER    XI. 
PROPAGATION  AND  PLANTING. 

From  what  has  been  said  of  the  favoring  conditions  in  Cali- 
fornia for  open  air  work  and  freedom  from  low  temperatures,  it 
may  be  rightly  inferred  that  the  higher  arts  of  propagation  involv- 
ing the  use  of  acres  of  glass  and  the  most  approved  heating  devices, 
are  not  to  be  found  in  California.  The  forcing  of  vegetables  which 
is  now  commanding  such  wide  effort  and  investment  at  the  East 
is  only  undertaken  to  a  limited  extent,  and  although  it  is  increasing 
with  our  advance  in  population  and  wealth,  it  will  always  be  men- 
aced by  the  open  air  work,  both  in  average  situations  and  in  f  rostless 
localities  which  are,  at  present,  only  worked  up  to  a  fraction  of  their 
capacity.  Forcing  is,  however,  accomplished  with  much  less  ex- 
pensive structures  and  heating  arrangements  than  at  the  East  be- 
cause only  slight  drops  in  temperature  are  to  be  overcome.  We 
have  also  a  decided  advantage  in  the  large  percentage  of  winter 
sunshine.  Forcing  is,  therefore,  relatively  cheaper  than  in  wintry 
regions  and  there  may  be,  ere  long,  an  important  industry.  Of 
course  the  same  general  conditions  which  discourage  forcing  with 
us  also  make  elaborate  and  expensive  arrangements  for  growing 
tender  plants  for  subsequent  planting  out,  unnecessary.  Not  only 
do  hot-beds  of  the  scantiest  construction  and  covering  answer  local 
purposes,  but  even  their  heating  materials  have  to  be  toned  down 
by  more  slowly  fermenting  intermixtures  and  by  freer  entrance  of 
air,  lest  the  growths  be  overforced.  Often,  as  will  be  described 
presently,  a  little  bottom  heat,  with  very  slight  covering  above,  is  all 
that  conditions  require  to  bring  forward  and  protect  tender  seed- 
lings until  it  is  safe  for  them  to  take  their  chances  under  kind  skies. 

TESTING  SEED  BEFORE  PLANTING. 

One  should  know  the  viability  of  seed  before  risking  his  labor 
upon  it.  The  following  is  a  current  account  of  a  simple  test  suited 
to  the  needs  of  amateurs : 

Take  two  dinner  plates  and  pieces  of  cotton  flannel.  Boil  them  both  to 
destroy  any  mold  spores  or  fungi  they  may  contain.  Upon  an  up-turned  plate 
place  a  layer  of  moistened  cotton  flannel.  On  this  lay  the  seeds  to  be  tested, 
of  the  small  seed  say  a  hundred,  and  half  the  number  of  large  seeds  will  do. 
Over  this  place  another  moistened  strip  and  cover  with  a  similar  plate.  If 
more  than  one  variety  of  seed  is  to  be  tested  at  one  time  another  strip  may 
be  laid  on  top  of  the  first  set,  the  seed  placed  and  covered  as  before,  using  two 
pieces  of  cloth  for  each  variety.  This  gives  the  seed  an  aerated  and  more  or 
less  sterilized  germinating  bed.  Set  the  plate  in  a  somewhat  darkened  place 
where  temperature  of  70  to  80  degrees  F.  during  the  day  and,  if  necessary, 
less  than  50  degrees  F.  during  the  night,  may  be  maintained.  The  length  of 

[106] 


HOW   TO  PLANT   SEEDS  107 

time  required  for  germination  will  depend  largely  upon  the  nature  of  the  seeds, 
from  six  to  ten  days  usually  being  required.  Where  only  a  small  percentage  of 
the  seed  fails  to  germinate  the  grower  may  provide  against  a  poor  stand  with 
a  heavier  seeding.  Where  the  percentage  germinating  is  small  it  is  usually 
desirable  to  try  for  a  better  lot  of  seed  before  planting. 

GROWTH   FROM    SEED  IN   OPEN   GROUND. 

Adequate  heat  and  moisture  are  essential  to  germination  and 
subsequent  growth.  The  preceeding  chapter  has  shown  at  what 
times  these  factors  are  present  in  California  soil,  either  by  nature 
or  artifice  of  the  planter.  Heat  is  almost  always  adequate  for  the 
germination  of  the  seed  in  common  vegetables,  in  well-drained 
surface  soil  in  the  California  valley  regions.  Even  in  our  frosty 
weather,  the  day  temperature  of  the  soil  is  adequate  for  germination 
except,  perhaps,  during  the  colder  storms  and  seldom  does  our  rain 
have  too  low  a  temperature.  Even  in  this  it  is  not  so  much  the 
matter  of  germination  as  of  conditions  inhospitable  to  the  subse- 
quent growth  of  the  germs.  It  makes  little  practical  difference, 
perhaps,  whether  the  seed  is  killed  or  the  germ  perishes  after  start- 
ing. But  the  death  of  either  seed  or  germ  is  more  often  due  to 
moisture  lack  or  excess,  than  to  temperature  conditions.  For  this 
reason  a  sowing  may  go  for  naught  if  seeding  is  done  in  the  fall 
without  thorough  moistening  of  the  soil  by  irrigation  or  rainfall, 
or  the  same  disappointment  may  follow  sowing  even  seed  of  hardy 
plants  in  certain  localities  in  December  and  January  in  years  of 
heavy  rainfall.  For  these  reasons  it  is  all-important  that  the  vege- 
table grower  should  carefully  observe  his  local  conditions  of  soil, 
heat  and  moisture  and  arrive  at  proper  deductions  from  his  own 
experience  as  to  what  acts  he  should  perform  under  his  ruling  local 
conditions  and  the  peculiar  phases  of  the  weather  of  the  particular 
year  in  which  he  is  acting.  And  then  a  vegetable  grower,  in  garden 
practice,  which  involves  succession  of  small  areas,  must  be  enter- 
prisingly venturesome.  He  must  take  some  chances  of  losing  a 
sowing  or  planting  and  of  renewing  it,  and  he  should  always  keep 
adequate  supplies  of  seed  or  seedlings  at  hand.  It  is  a  great  deal 
better  to  lose  a  sowing  than  to  set  up  some  arbitrary  dead-sure  date 
for  sowing;  for  with  such  a  policy  he  will  never  have  anything 
early,  and  perhaps  never  anything  profitable.  Field  work  for  staple 
vegetables  is  another  proposition,  but  field  work  for  shipment  of 
early  stuff  is  always  attended  by  some  risk,  for  the  grower  has  to 
venture  everything  on  doing  the  best  he  can  to  be  safe  and  early, 
but  to  be  early  at  any  rate. 

Although  this  is  true  it  must  be  always  remembered  that  noth- 
ing is  gained  in  working  the  soil  or  sowing  the  seed  when  the  soil 
is  not  in  condition  to  work  well.  Some  results  of  this  bad  practice 
have  been  mentioned  in  other  connections  and  they  are  deplorable, 
especially  in  the  heavier  soils.  It  is  especially  an  error  of  judgment 
in  seed  sowing  to  suppose  that  any  time  can  be  gained  by  sowing 
early  upon  an  unfit  seed  bed.  Even  if  a  fair  stand  should  be  secured 


108  CALIFORNIA   VEGETABLES 

there  will  be  handicaps  upon  the  plants  all  through  their  course, 
and  a  somewhat  later  planting  with  the  soil  in  good  condition  will 
probably  surpass  them  both  in  time  and  quality. 

There  is  often  advantage  in  soaking  seed  overnight  in  tepid 
water.  The  lighter  the  soil  and  the  later  the  sowing  the  greater 
benefit  will  accrue  from  this  method  of  hastening  germination. 
When  the  wet  seed  is  difficult  to  handle,  or  when  it  is  to  be  used 
with  a  seed-drill,  sift  some  fine  ashes  over  the  seed.  This  will  take 
up  the  surface  moisture  and  allow  them  to  run  through  the  drill 
easily. 

Arranging  Moisture  Conditions  for  Germination. — In  addition 
to  the  greater  undertakings  described  in  the  chapters  on  irrigation 
and  drainage,  there  are  little  acts  which  are  of  the  utmost  import- 
ance in  securing  moisture  conditions  favorable  to  germination  and 
growth. 

First:  Seed  covering.  Darkness  is  favorable  to  germination 
of  most  seeds,  but  covering  is  primarily  for  two  other  purposes. 
One  is  to  assist  the  seedling  in  its  anchorage  and  root  penetration, 
but  the  more  important  is  to  insure  it  moisture.  There  can  be  no 
positive  rule  for  depth  of  sowing.  Five  times  the  diameter  of  the 
seed  might  do  at  the  best  of  the  season  in  the  best  garden  soil,  but 
this  depth  would  be  too  great  for  some  seeds  in  some  soils  in  the 
rainy  season,  and  far  too  shallow  for  the  same  seed  and  soil  in  the 
dry  season.  On  all  soils  the  rule  must  be  shallow  sowing,  if  large 
rainfall  is  characteristic  of  the  region ;  deep  sowing  if  scant  rainfall 
is  to  be  expected;  shallow  sowing  early  in  the  rainy  season;  deep 
sowing  near  its  close;  shallow  sowing  on  the  heavier  soil;  deep 
sowing  on  the  lighter  soils.  Late  in  the  season  the  surface  layer 
which  is  air  dried  in  spite  of  stirring,  does  not  count  as  depth  at  all. 
It  must  be  brushed  aside  and  the  seed  sown  in  the  moist  layer 
beneath  whether  the  sowing  is  done  by  hand  or  with  a  seed  drill. 

Later  cultivation  will  level  the  soil  back  around  the  plant  stem 
to  assist  in  retaining  moisture  below.  Conforming  to  this  condition, 
the  larger  summer-sown  seeds  should  be  sown  in  the  light  soil  of 
the  interior  valleys  at  four  to  six  inches  deep — twice  or  three  times 
the  depth  prescribed  for  the  seed  in  humid  climates  or  in  the  humid 
side  of  our  own  climate.  Seeds  sown  in  hills  can  stand  deep  plant- 
ing better  than  when  sown  singly,  as  they  seem  to  join  their  strength 
in  uplifting  the  weight  of  soil  above  them. 

Second :  Soil  firming.  This  is  another  act  which  aids  the  seed 
in  other  ways,  but  is  primarily  for  moisture  furnishing.  A  seed 
thrown  into  a  loose  surface  layer  may  germinate  and  perish  for 
lack  of  moisture  and  soil-contact  or  it  may  lie  unquickened  until  a 
footstep  or  a  shower  compacts  the  earth  about  it.  It  may  thus  lie 
half  a  year  in  California.  Many  amateurs  are  much  too  kind  in 
their  intent  and  too  cruel  in  their  method,  by  making  the  surface  as 
loose  as  possible  and  then  gently  placing  the  seed  in  the  loose  layer. 
It  is  better  to  jump  on  it  with  both  feet.  Whether  it  be  done  by 


REQUIREMENTS  IN  SEED  PLANTING  109 

direct  tramping  or  by  tramping  a  narrow  board  placed  upon  the 
sown  row,  or  tamped  down  with  a  block  with  a  long  handle,  or  by 
using  the  garden  or  field  roller,  or  by  flat  slaps  with  the  back  of  the 
planting  hoe,  it  matters  not ;  it  is  only  essential  that  the  firming  of 
the  inclosing  layer  should  be  given  unless  immediate  water  settling 
of  the  ground  is  anticipated.  And  this  firming  is  conditioned  in 
degree  upon  soil  and  season  just  as  depth  of  covering  is,  viz. :  light 
soil  or  late  in  season,  heaviest  firming;  heavier  soil  or  early  in  sea- 
son, lighter  firming.  The  reason  for  firming  is  the  restoration  of 
capillarity  to  the  loose  layer,  consequently  adequate  moisture  supply 
to  the  germinating  seed.  But  when  this  capillarity  has  served  its 
purpose  and  the  root  has  penetrated  the  permanently  moist  layers 
below,  this  capillarity  near  the  surface  must  be  destroyed  by  culti- 
vation and  the  surface  layer  again  loosened  so  that  it  will  not  trans- 
mit moisture.  Therefore,  as  prescribed  in  an  earlier,  chapter  the 
hoe  or  cultivator  must  be  started  as  soon  as  the  young  plants  can  be 
seen,  and  in  some  larger  seeds  where  the  firmed  layer  has  been 
crusted  by  a  shower  a  light  harrowing  or  raking  may  be  desirable  to 
release  the  shoots  from  the  too  compact  covering  which  has  come 
over  them. 

Third :  Soil  opening.  The  converse  of  firming  the  soil  about 
the  seed  is  drying  of  the  surface  soil  when  unexpectedly  heavy  rains 
have  come  and  the  water  does  not  percolate  rapidly  enough  to  bring 
the  surface  layer  into  good  condition  for  growth.  In  such  an  event 
seed  can  often  be  saved  from  rotting  by  the  light  raking  or  harrow- 
ing or  cutting  with  a  disc,  to  allow  the  air  to  assist  drainage  in  re- 
lieving the  surface  layer  of  its  excess.  The  wisdom  of  this  course 
is  always  conditioned  upon  the  character  of  the  soil.  A  sticky  soil 
might  be  more  harmed  than  the  seed  would  be  helped  by  it. 

Fourth :  Mulching.  The  use  of  a  light  mulch  of  chaff  or  cor- 
ral-scrapings or  rotten  straw  or  other  fine,  loose  material  is  of  value 
in  garden  practice  if  it  does  not  occasion  too  great  cost  or  labor  to 
procure  or  prepare  it.  The  larger  the  seed  the  thicker  the  layer 
may  safely  be,  and  with  the  mulch,  shallower  planting  and  prob- 
ably quicker  germination,  is  possible.  The  mulch  lessens  evapora- 
tion from  the  surface  and  thus  gives  the  seed  a  surer  supply;  it 
also  prevents  puddling  of  the  soil  surface  by  pelting  rain  drops  and 
keeps  the  particles  both  moist  and  loose  for  the  thrust  of  the  shoot. 
A  mulch  also  makes  it  much  safer  to  sprinkle  the  bed  if  rains  delay. 
In  garden  practice  it  can  hardly  be  too  highly  commended.  On 
heavy  soils  sawdust  or  sand  can  be  used  for  this  purpose  if  they  are 
the  most  available  materials.  Discussion  of  mulching  from  other 
points  of  view  is  given  in  Chapter  VII. 

Fifth :  Irrigation.  Starting  seeds  by  irrigation  on  soil  that  has 
good  capillarity  and  lateral  percolation  (or  "seeps  well"  as  the 
common  phrase  is)  releases  one  from  several  of  the  injunctions  just 
laid  down.  The  covering  should  be  shallow,  as  the  moisture  will 
rise  to  the  surface ;  little  firming  needs  to  be  done,  for  the  water  will 


110  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

settle  the  soil,  and  when  the  moisture  is  ample,  stopping  the  supply 
will  quickly  allow  the  escape  of  the  surplus.  It  may  sometimes  be 
desirable  to  use  a  light  mulch  to  protect  the  surface  from  baking 
and  give  the  seedlings  a  few  days'  more  growth  before  it  is  neces- 
sary to  stir  the  surface.  Seed  starting  in  this  way  with  the  raised 
beds  and  permanent  ditches  and  the  ridge  irrigation  system,  all  of 
which  have  been  described  in  the  chapter  on  irrigation,  is  very  satis- 
factory. The  application  of  it  to  various  vegetables  will  be  given 
in  the  treatment  of  each.  Where  the  seeds  are  to  be  started  by 
the  furrow  system  on  land  that  will  draw  water  well  laterally,  the 
seed  can  be  sown  in  shallow  trenches,  leaving  the  seeds  barely  cov- 
ered. Then  irrigate  by  turning  water  into  shallow  irrigation  trenches 
made  some  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  apart.  Let  the  water  soak  through 
and  completely  moisten  the  surface  until  it  has  spread  across  all 
the  seed  trenches,  and  until  the  little  clods  are  broken  down  and 
dissolved.  The  seeds  are  thus  well  covered  and  enabled  to  sprout 
and  come  up  before  the  soil  is  dried  out.  Subsequent  cultivation 
levels  the  ground,  giving  the  seedlings  sufficient  depth  of  covering 
and  new  furrows  are  plowed  for  later  irrigations.  This  is  only 
one  of  many  ways  by  which  seeds  can  be  started  by  irrigation. 

GROWTH   FROM    SEED  UNDER   COVER. 

This  broad  title  is  used  to  include  about  all  that  is  done  in 
California  except  under  the  sky  cover.  In  the  chapters  on  the  dif- 
ferent vegetables,  which  will  follow,  there  will  be  mentioned  special 
propagating  methods  employed  with  each,  but  in  this  place  a  few 
protecting  and  promoting  arrangements  will  be  described  for  the 
benefit  of  beginners  in  garden  work. 

Seed  Boxes. — Seed  boxes  are  the  simplest  arrangement  for 
starting  seedlings  for  subsequent  planting  out  and  in  most  amateur 
gardening  in  this  climate  they  will  comprise  about  all  that  is  neces- 
sary in  the  way  of  construction,  because,  as  will  be  seen  later,  it  is 
very  easy  to  give  them  a  little  bottom  heat  if  the  grower  desires,  but 
they  can  be  largely  used  without  any.  The  chief  advantages  of 
starting  seedlings  in  boxes  instead  of  the  open  ground  are  the  ease 
with  which  the  seed  boxes  can  be  carried  under  protection  from 
cold,  beating  rains  or  frost,  or  protected  from  hot,  drying  winds  or 
too  intense  sun  heat,  and  the  convenience  with  which  moisture  con- 
ditions can  be  regulated  by  covering  and  light  sprinkling. 

There  are  no  particular  dimensions  to  be  observed  in  making 
seed  boxes,  except  that  they  should  not  be  too  large  to  be  easily 
lifted  and  carried  with  their  contents.  The  cases  which  enclose 
two  five-gallon  cans  of  coal  oil,  sawn  in  two  lengthwise  so  as  to 
make  two  wide,  shallow  boxes,  serve  an  excellent  purpose.  It  is 
more  convenient  to  have  all  the  boxes  of  the  same  size  than  to  use 
odd  sizes,  in  case  it  may  be  desired  to  group  the  boxes  in  a  hot-bed 
or  otherwise  for  heat  and  covering.  Be  sure  that  the  bottom  has 
ample  openings  for  drainage — either  cracks  or  bored  holes.  The 


THE   COLD   FRAME  111 

soil-layer  in  the  boxes  should  not  exceed  three  inches  in  depth.  In 
ordinary  amateur  practice  a  good  soil  for  these  boxes  can  be  made 
by  taking  good  rich  garden  soil  as  a  basis.  Add  sand  and,  if  possi- 
ble, the  light  mold  from  under  an  old  straw  stack,  leaf  mold,  finely 
powdered  rotted  manure,  or  something  similar,  until  you  have  a 
rich,  friable  soil.  No  definite  rule  can  be  given  for  mixing,  except 
that  the  prepared  soil  should  hold  moisture  well,  have  no  tendency 
to  cake,  and  never  crack  in  the  sun. 

Fill  the  boxes,  and,  with  a  small  board,  press  the  soil  closely 
and  evenly,  so  that  it  will  retain  moisture.  The  seeds  should  then 
be  sown  quickly  and  evenly  over  the  surface  or  in  lines,  and  pressed 
down  by  a  smooth  board  into  the  soil,  so  that  the  seed,  be  it  large 
or  small,  will  form  a  level  surface  with  the  soil.  This  being  done, 
the  same  prepared  soil  should  be  sifted  evenly  over  the  top,  just 
enough  to  cover  the  seed,  if  it  is  small,  and  but  little  more  if  it  is 
larger.  Again  press  this  layer  of  soil  which  has  covered  the  seeds 
gently  with  the  smooth  board. 

It  is  a  great  help  to  seed  to  have  the  surface  again  covered 
with  a  light  material  that  would  hold  moisture,  such  as  dry  moss, 
or  powdered  vegetable  matter  of  any  kind  which  is  light  and  will 
hold  moisture.  This  should  be  rubbed  through  a  sieve  over  the 
seed  boxes,  just  thick  enough  to  cover  the  soil  (not  more  than-one 
sixteenth  of  an  inch).  It  is  very  beneficial  in  the  germination  of 
the  seed,  as  with  such  a  top-dressing  one  watering  with  a  fine  rose 
watering-pot  will  keep  the  soil  moist  enough  usually  until  the  seeds 
come  up.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  be  continually  watering  seeds 
after  they  have  been  sown.  The  rule  in  all  these  things  is  never  to 
water  until  brushing  the  litter  from  the  surface  indicates  that  the 
soil  is  dry. 

A  Cold  Frame. — The  arrangement  which  comes  next  to  the 
seed  box  in  simplicity  is  the  cold  frame.  It  is  simply  for  the  pur- 
pose of  concentrating  sun  heat  and  protection  from  low  tempera- 
tures and  heavy  rain  storms.  It  is  a  convenient  receptacle  for  the 
seed  boxes  already  described,  or  it  may  be  put  over  seeds  sown  in 
the  ground — the  soil  being  prepared  to  receive  the  seed  in  about  the 
same  way  already  described  for  filling  the  boxes.  The  frame  is 
made  of  inch  boards,  the  front  board  about  twelve  inches  wide,  the 
back  board  or  boards  eighteen  inches  wide  and  the  sides  sloping 
about  six  inches  to  meet  the  widths  of  the  front  and  back  boards. 
The  frame  is  usually  made  three  feet  from  front  to  rear  (for  con- 
venience in  working  from  the  front,  but  can  be  of  any  length  de- 
sired). For  large  scale  work,  the  frames  are  usually  made  larger — 
say  four  or  five  feet  wide  and  twenty  feet  long.  This  frame  is  cov- 
ered with  glazed  sash  or  cloth  frames  or  lath  frames  or  first  one 
and  then  another,  according  to  the  amount  of  protection  and  heat 
or  of  shade  desirable.  The  arrangement  is  called  a  "cold  frame" 
because  no  provision  is  made  for  bottom-heat.  There  are  many 
modifications  of  the  cold  frame ;  lath  or  slat  houses  or  lath  covers 


112  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

for  beds  with  raised  edging  boards,  etc.,  etc.,  are  all  on  the  cold 
frame  principle,  and  in  this  climate,  where  so  little  increment  of 
heat  is  required  and  where  shade  is  often  desirable,  the  arrange- 
ment serves  an  excellent  purpose. 

The  Hot-bed. — The  hot-bed  consists  of  a  box  of  dimensions  like 
those  described  for  a  cold  frame,  which  is  placed  above  a  mass  of 
fermenting  manure  which  supplies  bottom  heat.  The  old  regula- 
tion style  of  hot-bed  was  made  by  digging  out  a  pit  the  size  of  the 
frame,  throwing  out  the  soil  to  a  depth  of  eighteen  inches  or  two 
feet.  Fill  in  the  excavation  with  a  foot  depth  of  fresh  horse  ma- 
nure mixed  with  straw  as  it  comes  from  a  stable  where  the  animals 
are  well  bedded  with  straw.  Tread  the  manure  down  firmly;  put 
on  the  frame  and  cover  the  manure  with  eight  to  ten  inches  of 
good  light  and  rich  sandy  loam  that  will  not  bake  or  crust  over 
when  sprinkled  with  water.  Bank  up  the  outside  of  the  frame 
with  the  same  kind  of  manure  used  inside,  and  cover  with  window 
sashes  of  the  proper  length  to  reach  across  the  bed  and  rest  on  the 
sides.  The  sashes  should  not  be  too  wide  as  it  is  desirable  to  un- 
cover part  of  the  bed  at  a  time.  As  soon  as  the  manure  begins  to 
ferment  and  heat  the  bed  is  ready  for  use.  Sow  seeds  in  rows  from 
front  to  back  of  the  bed,  and  germination  will  be  very  rapid.  On 
warm  days  the  cover  should  be  lifted  a  little  or  partially  or  wholly 
removed,  according  to  the  heat  of  the  day  and  the  activity  of  the 
bottom  heat  in  the  bed.  Water  freely  with  water  from  which  the 
chill  has  been  removed. 

This  old  style  of  hot-bed  is  contrived  to  freely  employ  the  heat 
of  the  fermenting  manure  and  to  push  plants  during  zero  tempera- 
tures in  the  outer  air.  Of  course,  where  winter  temperatures  but 
rarely  fall  to  the  freezing  point,  and  where  the  winter  day  heat  often 
runs  at  shirt  sleeves  and  sun-bonnet  degrees,  such  a  hot-bed  is  as 
excessive  in  the  garden  as  a  feather-bed  is  in  the  house.  For  these 
reasons,  the  horse  manure  is  made  less  active  by  considerable  ad- 
mixture of  chaff  or  dried  leaves  or  other  mollients.  This  mixture 
is  placed  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  in  a  place  protected  from  cold 
winds,  and  is  properly  mixed  and  packed  down  into  a  compact,  flat 
pile,  somewhat  larger  than  the  frame,  which  is  placed  upon  the  top 
of  it  and  the  same  material  is  drawn  up  around  the  outside  of  the 
ends  and  sides  of  the  frame.  Inside  the  frame  the  soil  is  placed 
just  as  described  for  the  hot-bed  with  a  pit.  This  raised,  instead 
of  depressed,  hot-bed  is  easier  to  make  and  it  has  other  advantages 
for  this  climate.  It  is  not  likely  to  have  its  pit  flooded  and  the  heat 
choked  off  by  rain  water  just  at  the  time  when  its  action  is  desired. 
It  is  also  easier  to  prevent  excessive  heat  because  it  allows  better 
opportunities  for  radiation.  But  even  with  this  the  plants  have  to 
be  very  carefully  watched  and  air  freely  given  or  they  will  become 
leggy  and  weak  from  too  great  forcing-heat.  These  local  conditions 
have  also  given  rise  to  other  modifications  of  hot-bed  arrangements 
which  are  excellent  for  this  climate.  One  is  shown  in  an  adjacent 


HOT-BEDS   AND    HOT-BOXES  113 

engraving.  By  making  the  ends  of  the  hot-bed  with  two  pieces,  the 
upper  hinged  to  the  lower,  it  is  possible  to  open  the  ends  easily 
either  to  avoid  end-shade  on  the  plants  or  to  admit  air  and  lower 
the  temperature  as  may  be  desirable. 


End-Opening  for  Hot  Bed  or  Cold  Frame. 

A  Horticultural  Hot-box.— The  late  Ira  W.  Adams,  of  Potter 
valley,  who  has  already  been  mentioned  as  a  grower  of  great  in- 
genuity and  insight,  devised  a  sort  of  automatic  arrangement  which 
changes  from  a  hot-bed  to  a  cold  frame  about  the  time  the  plants 
are  ready  to  go  from  forcing  to  hardening  off.  He  gives  this  de- 
scription of  it : 

I  take  a  dry  goods  box,  three  or  four  feet  long,  two  feet  wide  and  two 
feet  or  more  in  depth.  This  is  about  as  small  as  it  should  be ;  a  much  larger 
one  can  be  used,  if  necessary.  Into  this  I  put  fresh  horse  manure,  and  straw 
that  has  been  used  for  bedding,  and  tramp  it  down  occasionally  as  solid  as 
possible,  until  it  is  within  four  inches  from  the  top.  Over  this  I  scatter  a  little 
clean  straw.  I  then  use  small  boxes,  three  inches  deep,  and  fill  them  nearly 
full  with  nicely  prepared  soil,  and,  after  sowing  my  seed  place  each  box  on 
the  warm  bed  and  cover  each  one  with  a  pane  of  glass,  in  order  to  retain 
moisture.  It  is  necessary  to  remove  the  glass  occasionally,  for  the  purpose  of 
admitting  fresh  air.  The  main  bed  will  soon  commence  to  heat,  as  well  as 
the  earth  in  the  box.  Great  care  must  now  be  taken  for  a  few  days,  otherwise 
the  contents  of  the  boxes  might  become  too  warm,  which  would  cause  the 
young  plants  to  grow  tall  and  spindling,  thereby  rendering  them  almost 
worthless.  This  can  be  easily  obviated  by  lifting  the  boxes  and  placing  them 
under  an  inch  board,  or  a  few  bricks.  On  a  cold  night  vary  the  boards  or 
bricks  as  occasion  may  require.  In  a  few  days  the  plants  will  be  up  nicely,  the 
heat  of  the  bed  will  gradually  grow  less,  and  the  plants  will  naturally  favor 
themselves  to  the  change.  The  arrangement  will  then  become  a  "cold  frame," 
and  the  plants  will  grow  strong  and  stocky,  providing  care  is  taken  to  cover 
them  during  severe  storms,  as  well  as  in  cold  days  and  nights.  If  the  plants, 
while  still  small,  commence  to  crowd  each  other  too  much,  transplant  them  to 
an  open,  sheltered,  raised  bed  where  they  can  be  cared  for  until  ready  to  set 
out  in  permanent  beds  or  rows. 

A  Warm  Heap. — Another  of  Mr.  Adams'  arrangements  to 
give  his  seed  boxes  just  as  little  heat  as  suits  the  purpose  consists 
in  simply  throwing  up  a  heap  of  fresh  horse  manure,  etc.,  under  an 
old  shed,  and  placing  the  seed-boxes  on  top  of  the  heap.  Great 
care  must  be  taken  for  some  days  at  least,  as  it  becomes  necessary 


114  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

to  raise  the  boxes  sometimes  by  placing  them  on  a  piece  of  board 
or  bricks  or  to  press  them  down  a  little  into  the  heap,  owing  alto- 
gether to  the  amount  of  heat  generated.  A  little  too  much  is  worse 
than  not  quite  enough.  After  the  plants  get  a  few  inches  high  they 
can  be  transplanted  into  open  beds  somewhat  sheltered  from  the 
north  winds,  where  they  can  remain  until  conditions  favor  their 
planting  out. 

Watering. — In  growing  plants  with  heat,  moisture  conditions 
must  be  especially  regarded.  Too  great  moisture  and  "damping 
off"  of  seedlings  is  largely  prevented  in  common  vegetable  seedlings 
by  adequate  ventilation  which  has  already  been  emphasized  in  con- 
nection with  prevention  of  excessive  heat.  Too  little  moisture  is 
almost  as  dangerous  as  too  much.  There  should  be,  then,  ample 
watering  with  a  fine  spray  or  sprinkle  of  water  from  which  the  chill 
has  been  removed.  Most  of  the  time,  water  standing  in  the  sun 
for  a  day  will  be  of  satisfactory  warmth,  but  if  not,  a  little  boiling 
water  from  the  kitchen  will  temper  quite  a  volume  of  cold  water 
for  use  in  the  beds  and  frames. 

Damping  Off. — Damping  off  of  seedlings  is  due  to  a  fungus 
which  attacks  the  tender  growth  when  there  is  too  much  surface 
moisture.  It  may  be  produced  by  rather  a  small  amount  of  water, 
provided  the  soil  is  heavy  and  the  water  is  not  rapidly  absorbed 
and  distributed.  On  the  other  hand,  a  lighter  soil  taking  water 
more  easily  may  grow  plants  without  damping  off,  even  though  a 
great  deal  more  water  has  been  used  than  on  the  heavier  soil.  Too 
much  shade  which  prevents  the  sun  from  drying  the  surface  soil 
is  also  likely  to  produce  damping  off,  therefore  one  has  to  provide 
for  just  the  right  amount  of  shade  and  the  right  amount  of  venti- 
lation through  circulation  of  the  air,  etc.  The  use  of  sand  on  the 
surface  of  a  heavier  soil  may  save  plants  from  damping  off,  be- 
cause the  sand  passes  the  water  quickly  and  dries,  while  a  heavier 
surface  soil  would  remain  soggy.  Surface  drying  may  also  be  pro- 
moted by  sprinkling  in  the  morning  rather  than  in  the  afternoon 
or  evening.  Lime  may  be  of  advantage  if  not  used  in  too  great 
quantities  because  it  disintegrates  the  surface  of  the  soil  and  helps 
to  produce  a  dryness  which  is  desirable.  Success  in  keeping  the 
surface  dry  enough  and  yet  providing  the  seedlings  with  moisture 
for  a  free  and  satisfactory  growth  is  a  matter  which  must  be  de- 
termined by  experience  and  good  judgment  and  cannot  be  com- 
pletely covered  by  any  formula  or  prescription.  Damping  off  may 
be  reduced  or  prevented  by  sterilization  of  the  soil  before  planting 
by  using  a  pan-like  cover  of  the  surface  and  admitting  live  steam 
under  the  cover  and  raising  the  surface  to  a  high  heat — but  this  is 
a  process  too  elaborate  for  small  growers  to  undertake. 

Covering  for  Beds  and  Frames. — California  growers  largely 
substitute  cloth  for  glass  in  covering  hot-beds  or  cold  frames,  be- 
cause it  gives  all  the  protection  needed,  is  also  rather  more  of  a 
safeguard  against  overheating  and  it  furnishes  shade  from  too  in- 


WATERPROOFING   CLOTH  115 

tense  sun  heat  which  is  liable  to  come  on  any  winter  day  and  do 
harm.  This  is  an  especially  valuable  feature  in  amateur  growing 
where  one's  attention  is  apt  to  be  distracted  by  other  affairs.  Be- 
sides, the  cloth  is  of  nominal  cost.  In  the  drier  parts  of  the  state 
the  cloth  is  used  without  preparation.  Where  rains  are  more  fre- 
quent water-proofing  is  desirable.  Take  white  cloth  of  a  close 
texture,  stretch  it,  and  nail  it  on  frames  of  any  size  you  wish, 
putting  in  cross-bars  to  sustain  the  cloth  if  the  frame  is  large. 
Mix  two  ounces  of  lime  water,  four  ounces  of  linseed  oil,  one  ounce 
of  white  of  eggs  separately,  two  ounces  of  yolk  of  eggs;  mix  the 
lime  and  oil  with  a  very  gentle  heat;  heat  the  eggs  separately  and 
mix  with  the  former.  Spread  the  mixture  with  a  paint-brush  on 
the  cloth,  allowing  each  coat  to  dry  before  applying  another,  until 
they  become  waterproof. 

To  make  waterproof  cloth  with  less  labor  if  considerable  quan- 
tity is  wanted:  Soften  four  and  one-half  ounces  of  glue  in  eight 
and  three-quarter  pints  of  water,  cold  at  first;  then  dissolve  in,  say 
a  wash-boiler  full  (six  gallons)  of  warm  water,  with  two  and  one- 
half  ounces  of  hard  soap;  put  in  the  cloth  and  boil  for  an  hour, 
wring  and  dry ;  then  prepare  a  bath  of  a  pound  of  alum  and  a  pound 
of  salt  to  about  five  gallons  of  water,  soak  the  prepared  cloth  in  it 
for  a  couple  of  hours,  rinse  with  clear  water  and  dry.  One  gallon 
of  the  glue  salution  will  soak  about  ten  yards  of  cloth.  This  cloth 
has  been  used  in  southern  California  for  several  years  without 
mildewing  and  it  will  hold  water  by  the  pailful. 

Handling  of  Seedlings. — As  has  been  hinted  already,  seedlings 
grown  by  artificial  heat  or  protection 'should  be  brought  along  by 
such  adjustment  of  heat,  moisture  and  fresh  air  that  they  are  of 
good  healthy  color  and  sturdy  growth.  It  is  common  practice  to 
transplant  the  seedlings  when  quite  small  to  other  boxes  of  rather 
rich  soil,  in  which  they  are  more  widely  spaced,  and  to  continue  the 
growth  with  the  heat  for  a  time  and  then  move  the  box  to  a  cold 
frame,  giving  them  progressively  more  air  and  less  protection  until 
they  acquire  a  hardiness  for  the  open  air.  In  the  farm  garden  these 
every-day  coddling  arts  of  the  plantsman  are  apt  to  be  neglected 
and  it  will  answer  very  well  to  thin  out  the  plants  enough  in  the 
original  seed-boxes  and  to  harden  them  by  gradually  increasing  the 
exposure  in  the  declining  heat  of  the  hot-bed,  and  then  under  slight 
shelter  in  the  open  air,  until  the  time  comes  for  their  removal  to 
open  ground.  If,  however,  there  is  likely  to  be  some  time  before 
planting  out,  the  transplanting  from  the  seed-box  to  a  protected 
bed  in  the  open  air  will  allow  the  postponement  of  transplanting 
to  garden  or  field  until  a  considerably  later  date.  It  is  a  mistake  to 
hold  too  long  in  the  hot-bed  or  frame  with  the  idea  of  gaining  time 
by  having  large  plants  to  transplant.  Good,  sturdy  plants,  well  used 
to  fresh  air  and  the  lower  temperatures,  will  make  the  best  records 
in  the  open. 


116  CALIFORNIA   VEGETABLES 

Growing  Plants  in  Separate  Containers. — Planting  out  small 
seedlings  in  separate  receptacles  like  berry  baskets,  paper  flower 
pots,  etc.,  will  secure  strong  development  of  single  plants,  if  these 
containers  can  be  handled  in  a  way  to  prevent  too  free  circulation 
of  air  around  them  and  too  great  drying  out.  If  this  is  not  done, 
the  plants  in  the  seed-beds  or  seed-boxes  will  show  greater  thrift, 
To  secure  better  moisture  and  at  the  same  time  great  facility  in 
planting  out,  this  method  is  commended. 

Take  common  printer's  cardboard  and  have  it  cut  into  strips  4x22  inches. 
By  folding  these  tightly  around  a  block  of  wood  3  by  3  inches  wide  and  4 
inches  high,  slipping  off  and  putting  in  a  pin,  we  have  a  square  pot  with  no 
bottom.  These  are  pressed  flat  and  packed  a  thousand  in  a  bunch  for  conven- 
ience, until  wanted.  When  ready  to  use,  open,  give  a  quick  pinch  on  the  cor- 
ners not  folded,  and  the  box  will  stand  almost  perfectly  square.  These  fit 
nicely  together  and  can  be  opened,  shaped  and  set  rapidly.  Place  several  rows 
at  a  time,  drop  a  little  well-rotted  manure  in  each  one,  press  down,  then  fill  in 
the  soil  with  a  shovel,  set  a  plant  in  each  box,  then  fill  in  more  soil  until  the 
boxes  cannot  be  seen.  This  prevents  the  air  from  getting  in  and  drying  too 
rapidly.  When  ready  for  the  field  slip  a  trowel  under  and  place  them  on  a 
sled  to  haul  out  to  the  field.  The  manure  serves  every  purpose  of  a  paper 
bottom  in  preventing  soil  and  plant  from  dropping  out,  and  it  does  not  inter- 
fere with  the  moisture  either  going  down  or  coming  up.  It  is  not  so  neces- 
sary to  remove  these  boxes  when  planting  out,  and  if  we  do  wish  to  take  them 
off  they  are  much  more  easily  removed  than  those  with  bottoms. 

Planting  Seedlings. — The  points  to  observe  for  planting  out 
seedlings  in  the  open  air  are  almost  exactly  the  same  as  those  al- 
ready given  in  this  chapter  for  the  arrangement  of  proper  moisture 
conditions  for  seed  germination.  Depth  of  planting  depends  upon 
the  same  conditions ;  firming  of  the  soil  about  the  rootlets  is  for  the 
same  reasons;  a  loose  surface  above  and  frequent  cultivation  after- 
ward are  essential  because  of  considerations  already  described.  The 
judicious  use  of  water  at  transplanting,  by  pouring  it  in  the  hole  or 
running  it  along  in  the  drill  or  furrow,  is  a  very  important  point  in 
late  work  or  in  planting  out  when  the  season  is  rather  dry,  but  the 
use  of  water  must  always  be  followed,  when  the  soil  has  dried  some- 
what, by  stirring  of  the  surface  or  other  means  of  preventing  evap- 
oration or  else  the  plants  will  dwindle  and  on  investigation  the  dead 
stem  will  be  found  to  resemble  a  match  stuck  in  on  unburned  brick, 
if  the  soil  is  at  all  heavy  in  its  nature. 

Seedlings  to  be  planted  in  the  field  for  horse  cultivation  are 
distanced  by  the  use  of  a  marker,  as  described  in  the  chapter  on 
laying  off.  In  small  garden  beds  for  hand  work,  the  plants  can  be 
very  accurately  distanced  both  ways  by  using  a  "planting  board/' 
It  is  made  of  a  width  equal  to  the  desired  distance  between  the 
rows  and  of  a  length  equal  to  the  width  of  the  bed,  and  is  carefully 
cut,  by  the  use  of  a  carpenter's  square,  so  that  the  ends  are  exactly 
at  right  angles  to  the  sides.  By  stretching  a  line  along  the  length 
of  the  bed,  and  making  one  end  of  the  board  true  with  that  line,  the 
sides  of  the  board  will  mark  two  parallel  lines  across  the  bed  and 
notches  cut  at  desired  distances  in  the  sides  of  the  board  will  show 


PLANTING  PUT  IN  HILLS  117 

where  the  plants  are  to  be  set.  If  the  board  is  carefully  used  the 
bed  may  be  quickly  set  with  plants  which  will  stand  in  straight  lines 
both  ways.  Standing  on  the  board  while  planting  prevents  impact- 
ing the  ground  surface  and  disfiguring  it  with  footprints. 

Plants  Ready  Grown  in  Hills  for  Transplanting. — All  seed- 
lings which  it  is  desirable  to  grow  in  groups  or  hills  are  very  neatly 
and  safely  handled  by  the  use  of  inverted  sods  in  connection  with 
the  hot-box  already  described.  This  can  be  done  with  sods  of 
native  growth  six  inches  square  and  four  inches  deep  or  alfalfa 
can  be  grown  in  seed  boxes  on  which  sods  will  form  sufficiently  in 
six  weeks  from  sowing  the  seed.  Make  a  temporary  floor  of  old 
boards  on  top  of  the  packed  manure  of  the  hot-box.  The  inverted 
sods  are  then  packed  closely  on  this  floor  with  the  grass  gathered 
in  nicely  under  each  sod.  Exactly  in  the  middle  of  each  inverted 
sod  thrust  a  small  stick,  and  after  scarifying  each  sod  thoroughly 
aft  inch  or  two  in  depth  with  an  old  caseknife,  carefully  put  over 
the  whole  bed  two  inches  of  rich  compost,  made  of  fine  creek  sand, 
and  decayed  sods,  a  year  or  two  old,  mixed  with  fine  sweepings 
from  the  cow-yard  gathered  in  summer  and  protected  from  winter 
rains.  Tamp  this  prepared  soil  pretty  firmly  with  the  back  of  a 
hoe,  and  plant  the  seeds  an  inch  or  so  in  depth  around  each  stick 
which  serves  to  indicate  the  middle  of  each  sod.  Plant  six  to  eight 
seeds  in  a  hill,  leaving  finally  three  of  the  strongest  plants.  A  box 
three  by  two  feet  will  hold  twenty-four  sods,  which  may  be  planted 
for  two  hills  of  cucumbers,  six  of  muskmelons,  six  of  watermelons, 
and  ten  hills  of  pole  beans,  or  eight  hills  of  beans  and  two  hills  of 
summer  squashes,  and  these  will  furnish  a  family  of  five  all  it  can 
use  if  the  plants  are  well  taken  care  of.  The  box  for  early  plants 
should  be  placed  on  the  south  side  of  a  shed  or  barn  in  order  to  pro- 
tect it  from  strong  north  winds,  heavy  cold  rains,  as  well  as  danger 
of  frosts,  and  should  be  watered  as  needed  with  lukewarm  water 
Transplant  the  sods  when  safe  by  running  a  wide  shingle  or  spade 
on  the  floor  under  each  sod.  In  planting  out  the  sods  must  be  well 
bedded  in  moist  soil  which  is  closely  firmed  around  them  and  the 
surface  kept  loose. 

Open  Air  Seed-Beds. — But  though  the  amateur  should  know 
all  these  ways  of  growing  seedlings  for  transplanting  by  such  de- 
vices as  have  been  described,  he  should  be  assured  that  very  much 
can  be  done  by  growing  seedlings  in  the  open  air  and  open  ground 
without  artificial  heat  or  protection.  Seed  beds  are  made  for 
this  purpose  exactly  as  they  are  for  growing  vegetables  without 
transplanting,  as  described  in  Chapter  V — using  the  "raised  bed" 
or  the  "depressed  bed,"  etc.,  according  to  the  expectation  of  more 
or  less  moisture  following  the  seed  sowing,  and  all  the  suggestions 
for  open  air  seed  starting  given  earlier  in  this  chapter  are  also  ap- 
plicable. Of  course,  also,  many  plants  removed  in  thinning  the  stand- 
ing rows  can  be  used  in  transplanting  for  additional  areas  of  the 


118  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

same  kinds.     The  amateur  should  quickly  make  himself  competent 
in  the  art  of  transplanting. 

Cuttings  and  Layers. — Many  herbaceous  stems  of  garden  vege- 
tables root  readily  from  cuttings.  Higher  heat  and  greater  moisture 
are  as  a  rule  requisite  for  such  cuttings  than  for  hardwood  cuttings 
of  fruiting  and  flowering  plants,  but  some,  like  the  potato,  sweet 
potato,  globe  artichocke,  etc.,  root  quickly  in  open  ground  taken 
from  sprouts  taken  from  the  parent  stock,  and  others,  like  the 
tomato,  grow  from  cuttings  of  aerial  stems.  In  the  open  ground 
the  soil  must  be  warm  and  moist  and  the  air  moist  also.  These 
conditions  usually  occur  in  California  at  the  beginning  or  especially 
toward  the  end  of  the  rainy  season,  or  they  can  be  produced  in 
a  hot-bed  at  any  time.  The  cuttings  should  not  wilt,  and  shade  is 
of  advantage  when  practicable,  for  cuttings  made  from  aerial  stems, 
as  they  are  more  prone  to  collapse  than  sprouts  from  the  tuber  or 
root  crown. 

• 

Layering  is  often  a  handy  way  to  multiply  many  vegetables 
with  branching  stems.  Cover  the  stems  with  moist  earth  and  they 
usually  root  readily.  In  some  cases  a  short  slit  with  a  knife  length- 
wise of  buried  stem  aids  in  rooting. 

A  Consideration  of  Cans. — It  would  not  do  to  ignore  the  can 
method  of  vegetable  growing  and  deny  this  refuse  tinware  its  place 
in  amateur  gardening,  for  really  some  very  creditable  things  are 
done  in  cans.  If  one  prepares  the  right  kind  of  soil,  with  such 
texture  that  it  will  form  neither  a  leach  nor  a  brick,  and  then  strives 
for  correct  temperature  and  moisture  conditions  and  makes  drain- 
age holes  enough,  a  plant  will  grow  in  a  tin  can  as  well  as  in  some 
more  distinguished  receptacle.  Many  housewives  grow  very  cred- 
itable tender  plants  for  planting  out  by  using  old  cans  and  a  sunny 
window  shelf.  Some  devoted  city  gardeners  make  surprising  suc- 
cesses on  the  old  can  foundation.  In  San  Jose  a  few  years  ago 
there  was  a  back  yard  twelve  by  twenty-five  feet  surrounded  by 
high  whitewashed  fences  and  sheds  which  cast  a  blinding  glare  in 
the  eye  of  the  visitor.  Gardening  enthusiasm  and  tin  cans  trans- 
formed the  scene.  Tomato  vines  ran  above  the  eaves  of  the  shed, 
being  trained  to  the  wall  like  grapevines.  Between  the  tomato  plants 
were  squash  vines  from  which  the  laterals  and  leaves  were  cut  as 
they  grew  toward  the  roof,  so  that  they  were  little  more  than  a 
bare  stem  below  the  eaves,  but  had  a  most  luxurious  growth  at 
the  eaves  and  on  the  roof  of  the  shed  and  back  porch  and  along  top 
of  fences.  Large  squashes  ripened  on  the  roof  and  shelves  at  the 
eaves  and  fence  tops.  Lima  beans  ran  in  various  directions.  String 
beans,  peppers,  and  mint  grew  below  the  running  vines.  Tomato 
plants  over  six  feet  in  height  were  severely  pruned  near  the  ground 
to  a  bare  stalk,  giving  free  circulation  to  cats,  breezes,  and  a  little 
direct  but  more  reflected  sunshine.  Cans  of  all  sizes  were  used ;  old 
rusty  five-gallon  cans  with  the  bottoms  punched  full  of  holes ;  small 
cans,  one  set  over  another  and  filled  half  full  of  fresh  bones,  and 


GROWING  PLANTS  IN   CANS  119 

over  these  several  inches  of  fresh  wood  ashes.  Water  poured  into 
the  cans,  leached  through  the  ashes,  combining  a  complete  fertilizer 
and  system  of  sub-irrigation.  The  cans  were  often  artfully  con- 
cealed from  sight,  but  they  were  there  as  the  foundation  of  an 
enterprise.  By  their  use  and  the  employment  of  vertical  space  for 
the  plant  extension,  this  little  mite  of  a  city  back  yard  was  made 
into  a  pretty  greenery  without  interfering  with  its  function  as  a 
clothes-drying  yard  on  Mondays.  When  one  sees  such  things  he 
is  led  to  wonder  whether  there  is  anything  which  Will  and  Work 
and  Water  cannot  accomplish. 


CHAPTER    XII. 
ARTICHOKES. 

THE  GLOBE  OR  BUR  ARTICHOKE. — Cynara  Scolymus. 
French,  artichant;  German,  artischoke;  Dutch,  artisjok;  Danish,  artiskok; 
Italian,  articiocca,  carciof o ;  Spanish,  alcachof a ;  Portuguese,  alcachof ra. 
Edible  part,  portions  of  young  flower  buds. 

THE  CARDOON. — Cynara  cardunculus. 

French,  cardon;  German,  kardon;  Flemish,  kardoen;  Italian,  Spanish  and 
Portuguese,  cardo. 

THE  JERUSALEM  ARTICHOKE. — Helianthus  tuberosus. 

French,  topinambour ;  German,  erdapf el ;  Flemish,  aardpeer ;  Danish, 
jordskokken;  Italian,  girasole  del  canada;  Spanish,  namara;  Portuguese 
topinambor. 

Edible  part,  the  tuber. 

San  Francisco  has  the  reputation  of  being  the  city  of  the 
United  States  best  supplied  with  the  delicious  young  flower  buds 
of  the  globe  artichoke.  Although  this  is  true,  it  is  also  a  fact  that 
the  plant  is  not  used  to  even  a  small  fraction  of  its  possibility  in 
California.  It  is  perfectly  hardy  in  our  valley  climates,  in  fact  it 
is  induced  to  make  its  chief  growth  in  the  winter  and  yields  its  crop 
from  November  onward,  thus  completely  reversing  its  eastern  and 
north  European  record,  where  it  starts  growth  in  the  spring  from 
roots  which  have  been  covered  out  of  reach  of  freezing  all  winter. 
The  plant  is,  therefore,  of  especial  value  in  California  for  use  in 
late  winter  and  early  spring  when  garden  supplies  are  scantiest. 
It  is  a  garden  ornament  also  with  its  height  of  four  feet  or  more, 
its  large  pinnatifid  leaves,  light  green  above  and  whitish  below,  and 
its  flowers  in  the  style  of  a  colossal  thistle  head. 

Although  grown  in  home  and  market  gardens  in  most  of  our 
valley  and  foothill  regions  the  globe  artichoke  as  a  shipping  vege- 
table has  received  considerable  attention  during  recent  years,  and 
the  chief  producing  region  is  on  the  coast  side  of  San  Mateo  county, 
just  south  of  San  Francisco.*  Shipments  to  eastern  cities  begin  in 
December  or  January,  and  continue  until  June.  Such  shipments 
reached  about  300  carloads  in  1913,  and  averages  annually  about  that 
amount.  The  buds  are  packed  in  standard  size  apple  boxes  and  are 
made  to  lie  on  their  sides  in  the  boxes.  Such  a  box  holds  about  six 
dozen  large  buds  or  about  fifteen  dozen  small  ones,  and  about  five 
hundred  boxes  fill  a  car,  for  which  the  growers  expect  to  get  about 
$600.  It  is  fair  to  expect  an  increasing  demand  because  the  vege- 
table is  only  beginning  to  be  understood  and  appreciated  by  Ameri- 
cans. When  they  learn  its  delicacy  a  continuous  supply  of  fresh 

*A  detailed  account  of  this  industry  by  Paul  Parker  is  given  in  the  Pacific  Rural  Press 
of  February  13,  1915. 

[120] 


GROWING   GLOBE   ARTICHOKES  121 

artichokes  from  California  during  the  winter  season  can  be  profit- 
ably sold.  The  canning  of  artichokes  is  also  being  largely  un- 
dertaken. 

$0H, — Xhe  globe  artichoke  will  thrive  on  any  well-prepared 
garden  soil  and  does  not  refuse  a  pretty  heavy  adobe  if  well  culti- 
vated to  retain  moisture.  The  chief  commercial  crop  is  made  on 
the  sandy  loams  of  the  ocean  slopes,  where  fogs  moisten  the  air 
of  the  dry  season  and  the  ocean  moderates  the  temperature  in 
winter,  which  is  the  cropping  season.  But  on  such  soils  water  and 
fertilizers  must  be  freely  used.  The  plant  delights  in  manuring  and 
is  benefited  by  it  both  in  the  tenderness  of  its  buds  and  the  multi- 
plication of  bearing  stems.  Either  a  complete  commercial  fertilizer 
or  barnyard  manure  may  be  quite  freely  used — the  latter  even  at 
the  rate  of  ten  or  twelve  tons  to  the  acre,  applied  early  in  the 
rainy  season. 

Propagation. — The  plant  grows  readily  from  seed  which  may 
be  planted  either  in  boxes  or  the  open  ground  in  September,  if  irri- 
gation is  available;  if  not,  sow  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  deeply 
moistened  by  rain.  The  seedlings  may  be  transplanted,  when  six 
or  eight  inches  high,  to  permanent  place  whenever  the  ground  is 
suitable  the  same  season.  Transplanted  seedlings  usually  bear 
within  a  year.  Care  should  be  taken  not  to  cover  the  crown  deeply 
in  transplanting. 

But  there  is  much  variation  in  plants  grown  from  seed  and 
those  grown  from  parts  of  old  plants  of  good  type  are  almost  ex- 
clusively used  in  commercial  practice.  The  plant  grows  readily 
from  dividing  the  stool  or  from  suckers  detached  from  the  root 
crown.  The  latter  furnish  an  excellent  means  of  multiplication  and 
should  be  secured  by  first  uncovering  the  stool  as  soon  as  there  is 
a  good  growth  of  new  shoots  with  well-developed  leaves.  Remove 
the  shoots  carefully  with  a  knife  or  sharp  gouge  so  as  to  take  a 
small  part  of  the  parent  root  at  the  base  of  the  shoot.  Many  plants 
can  thus  be  taken  from  a  single  root-crown  and  a  few  of  the  best 
shoots  left  for  growth.  Shorten  the  leaves  somewhat  to  reduce 
evaporation  until  new  roots  are  formed.  These  sprouts,  which 
should  be  taken  off  during  the  rainy  season,  can  be  planted  at  once 
in  permanent  place  if  the  ground  is  warm  and  moist  and  will  bear 
late  in  the  same  year,  if  their  growth  is  promoted  by  frequent 
watering.  But  plants  do  not  reach  maximum  production  of  three 
or  four  dozen  buds  to  the  stool  until  the  third  year.  Although  the 
plants  can  be  kept  for  nine  or  ten  years  in  service,  better  product 
can  be  had  by  renewing  at  the  end  of  the  fifth  year,  using  the  suck- 
ers from  the  old  plants  for  a  new  start. 

Distance. — So  free  is  the  growth  in  this  state,  it  is  desirable 
to  give  a  good  distance.  In  the  garden  four  feet  apart  in  rows 
which  are  five  or  six  feet  apart  is  often  practiced.  But  as  the  plant 
is  high  and  rather  dense,  it  is  better  to  place  the  rows  in  the  back- 
ground of  the  small  garden  and  its  use  as  an  ornamental  hedge  or 


122  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

screen  is  suggested,  providing  the  ground  is  kept  rich  and  well 
cultivated.  A  row  of  the  plants  along  an  irrigating  ditch  is  usually 
very  desirable,  both  for  use  and  beauty. 

In  commercial  planting  on  the  seashore  slopes  and  flats  it  has 
been  desirable  to  give  the  plants  very  wide  distances.  Speaking  of 
the  practice  in  San  Mateo  county,  Mr.  Parker  says : 

About  900  plants  are  figured  to  the  acre.  On  level  ground  they  are  set 
six  feet  apart  with  ten  feet  spaces  between  rows.  This  gives  ample  space  for 
wagons,  cultivators,  and  small  irrigation  ditches.  On  many  of  the  farms  they 
raise  peas,  corn,  beans,  and  tomatoes  between  the  rows.  Where  ground  is 
high  and  the  irrigation  ditches  have  to  be  deep,  the  artichokes  are  planted  on 
each  side  of  the  ditch  so  that  there  is  sometimes  fully  thirty  feet  space  between 
the  canals. 

Gathering. — The  flower  buds  should  be  removed  as  soon  as 
they  are  well  formed  and  before  the  scales  open.  In  this  condition 
they  are  more  tender  and  a  larger  portion  of  the  scale  is  edible. 
As  the  bud  stands  at  the  apex  of  the  shoot,  the  shoot  should  be  cut 
to  the  ground.  If  this  is  done  the  plant  is  induced  to  send  up  more 
shoots.  As  soon  as  the  flowers  are  allowed  to  open,  the  growth  of 
shoots  from  below  is  checked  or  stopped.  Hence  prompt  cutting 
as  soon  as  in  condition  insures  a  larger  bearing  season,  but  as  other 
vegetables  come  into  condition,  the  plants  should  be  allowed  to 
make  free  top  growth  for  the  reinforcement  of  the  roots  for  the 
next  season. 

Of  the  way  a  commercial  plantation  can  be  made  to  deliver  its 
product  in  the  winter  when  demand  is  best,  Mr.  Parker  says : 

The  plants  are  cut  down  to  the  ground  during  June  and  July.  The  new 
shoots  will  not  bear  until  September  or  October,  the  top  buds  first ;  and  cut- 
ting these  off  causes  new  buds  continually  to  be  sent  out.  This  continues  dur- 
ing the  winter,  reaching  the  maximum  yield  in  January.  In  the  following 
May  no  more  buds  are  cut  off,  but  are  allowed  to  bloom.  The  later  the  cutting 
down  of  the  plant,  the  larger  the  buds  will  be  the  next  winter.  When  the 
plants  are  cut  back  too  early  in  June,  the  buds  will  appear  very  early  but  they 
are  always  small. 

Variety. — The  variety  chiefly  grown  in  California  is  the  Large 
Green  Paris,  a  vigorous  grower  yielding  buds  of  large  size  with 
scales  very  fleshy  at  the  base  and  set  in  a  broad  receptacle  also 
fleshy.  This  variety  grown  for  succession  seems  to  leave  little  op- 
portunity for  the  use  of  other  varieties. 

It  is  very  necessary  that  discrimination  should  be  made  against 
poor  plants  which  have  loose  bud-formation  and  a  spiny  growth. 
They  should  be  extirpated. 

THE  CARDOON. 

The  cardoon  is  closely  related  to  the  globe  artichoke,  and  re- 
sembles it  in  growth  except  that  it  attains  larger  size.  Its  edible 
part  is,  however,  the  stem  and  midrib  of  the  leaf,  and  not  the  flower 
bud  as  in  the  artichoke.  It  is  propagated  from  seed  and  not  from 


THE  JERUSALEM   ARTICHOKE  123 

sprouts,  and  to  produce  satisfactory  quality,  the  seedling  must  be 
pushed  to  quick  growth  by  ample  manure  and  moisture.  The  car- 
doon  is  hardy  in  the  coast  region,  and  can  be  grown  for  autumn  or 
spring  use,  or  for  succession  at  nearly  all  times.  The  plant  is 
ready  for  use  in  about  six  months  from  sowing.  It  is  apt  to  be- 
come a  bad  weed  in  pasture,  field  or  roadsides. 

THE  JERUSALEM  ARTICHOKE. 

This  plant  which  will  be  readily  recognized  as  a  tuberous- 
rooted  sunflower,  is  exceedingly  prolific  in  California.  It  is  not 
largely  used  for  human  food,  though  it  is  usually  to  be  found  in 
the  San  Francisco  market.  It  somewhat  resembles  a  potato  in 
flavor,  and  yet  has  its  own  distinctive  character,  and  is  cooked  in 
several  ways.  It  may  be  baked,  or  pared  or  cooked  like  salsify,  or 
boiled  for  use  in  soups  and  salads.  It  does  not  resemble  the  potato 
in  keeping  quality,  for  it  is  apt  to  decay  quickly  after  digging.  It 
must,  therefore,  be  freshly  dug  from  the  ground  and  not  stored. 

Soil,  Culture  and  Yield. — The  Jerusalem  artichoke  is  not  very 
particular  about  soil.  It  reaches  better  form  in  rather  a  light  soil, 
as  does  a  potato,  and  it  yields  enormously  on  a  rich  loam,  but  it 
will  probably  yield  a  greater  weight  on  a  poor,  dry  soil  than  any 
other  crop  known.  S.  J.  Murdock,  of  Orange  county,  gives  this 
account  of  the  plant: 

The  preparation  of  the  ground  and  the  subsequent  cultivation  is  the  same 
as  for  potatoes;  the  rows  should  not  be  less  than  four  feet  apart,  and  three 
feet  between  plants.  Plant  small  tubers  or  the  larger  ones  cut  to  two  eyes, 
and  about  four  inches  deep.  Keep  the  ground  stirred  to  prevent  weeds,  till 
the  plants  shade  the  patch,  and  then  they  will  take  care  of  themselves.  They 
should  yield  from  seven  to  fifteen  tons  per  acre,  or  even  more,  with  a  good 
stand,  good  soil,  and  care.  Last  year  was  a  dry  one,  and  a  neighbor  of  mine 
planted  one  acre  to  artichokes,  but  got  but  little  over  half  a  stand  on  account 
of  parts  of  his  land  being  too  dry.  Yet  with  his  partial  stand  he  raised  ten 
tons  of  tubers. 

But  Mr.  Murdock  and  his  neighbors  operate  on  a  peat  soil  of 
great  looseness  and  richness,  which  favors  the  maximum  size  and 
multiplication  of  the  tubers.  His  results  are,  therefore,  not  attain- 
able everywhere,  but  still  the  growth  and  productiveness  of  the 
plant  is  marvelous  in  this  climate. 

Gathering. — In  the  garden  the  artichoke  bed  can  be  regarded 
as  a  permanent  investment.  Digging  can  begin  in  the  autumn  at 
one  end  of  the  bed  and  proceed  regularly  through  it  as  the  tubers 
are  wanted  until  growth  starts  in  the  spring.  Selecting  the  large 
tubers  for  use  and  leaving  the  small  ones  in  the  soil  will  harvest 
and  replant  the  crop  at  one  operation.  Before  the  rains  are  over, 
the  bed  should  have  a  top  dressing  of  manure  and  then  it  is  ready 
for  another  season,  with  no  further  care  except  pulling  weeds  which 
start  early. 

The  Jerusalem  artichoke  has  been  commended  for  years  as  a 
food  for  hogs — the  animals  to  do  their  own  harvesting.  Some  grow- 


124  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

ers  are  very  enthusiastic  over  it,  but  why  it  has  not  been  more 
widely  employed  has  never  been  fully  explained.  Some  growers 
commend  them  highly  as  cow-feed,  and  when  boiled,  fowls  eat  them 
readily,  but  the  cost  of  digging  for  such  purposes  is  a  serious 
drawback. 

Varieties. — Two  varieties  have  been  widely  distributed  in  Cali- 
fornia: the  White  French  and  the  Red  Brazilian.  The  white  kind 
is  preferred  for  table  use  and  the  red  is  chosen  for  field  growth  for 
stock,  as  it  is  rather  more  vigorous  and  prolific.  The  red  variety 
is,  however,  frequently  found  in  our  vegetable  markets  and  is  ac- 
ceptable for  table  use. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 
ASPARAGUS. 

ASPARAGUS — A sparagus  Officinalis. 

French,  asperge;  German,  spargel;  Flemish  and  Dutch,  aspersie;  Danish 
asparges;  Italian,  sparagio;  Spanish,  esparrago;  Portuguese,  espargo. 

Asparagus  is  a  leading  winter  vegetable  in  California  and  is 
produced  as  a  field  crop  for  local  sale,  for  canning,  and  for  eastern 
shipment.  It  is  not  grown,  however,  as  a  garden  crop  for  home 
use  as  widely  as  it  should  be.  This  is  probably  due  in  part  to  the 
fact  that  in  nearly  all  towns  it  can  be  cheaply  bought  during  the 
winter  and  spring;  in  part,  also,  to  an  exaggerated  notion  of  the 
difficulty  of  making  and  caring  for  an  asparagus  bed.  In  almost  all 
parts  of  the  state  it  is  not  difficult  for  the  attentive  gardener  to 
secure  crop  and  quality  which  will  amply  repay  his  efforts,  but  one 
has  to  know  the  nature  and  needs  of  the  plant  and  meet  them. 

Regions  open  to  coast  influences  either  directly  or  through  gaps 
in  the  Coast  Range,  or  regions  where  atmospheric  humidity  is  in- 
creased somewhat  by  evaporation  from  moist  soils  or  wide  water 
surface,  as  in  the  case  in  interior  river  bottoms,  have  superior  con- 
ditions for  the  growth  of  the  plant  which  is  maritime  in  its  origin 
and  nature.  On  the  peat  lands  near  the  ocean  in  Orange  county 
asparagus  established  itself  as  an  escape  from  cultivation  and  it  is 
stated  that  this  demonstration  of  its  choice  of  situation  suggested 
the  plantings  for  distant  shipment  which  some  years  ago  were  of 
considerable  commercial  importance,  but  recently  the  crop  has  been 
carried  to  much  greater  attainment  in  other  parts  of  the  state. 

Soil. — Asparagus  is  chiefly  grown  commercially  on  peat  lands 
in  the  deltas  of  rivers  and  on  soft,  deep  loams  elsewhere  with  large 
use  of  animal  manures.  These  peat  lands  are  composed  of  vege- 
table debris  intermixed  with  sand,  and  are  very  loose  and  penetrable 
in  their  texture.  They  are  also  underlaid  by  impervious  strata  at 
considerable  depth,  which  holds  water  within  reach  ot  the  plant 
roots.  Such  conditions  are  found  in  the  reclaimed  lands  of  the 
Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  deltas,  where  the  largest  growing  areas 
and  canning  factories  are  located.  But  it  is  not  essential  that  just 
these  conditions  prevail.  In  the  Santa  Clara  valley  and  elsewhere 
in  central  California  deep  alluvial  soils  without  any  great  amount 
of  vegetable  debris,  for  many  years  furnished  large  quantities  to 
the  markets.  More  recently  a  commercial  product  for  very  early 
shipment  has  been  developed  in  the  Imperial  valley  adjacent  to  the 
Colorado  river  in  the  extreme  southeast  corner  of  the  state. 

[125] 


126  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Any  deep,  rich  sandy  loam,  moist  enough  to  give  a  winter  and 
spring  crop  and  a  summer  growth  of  foliage  to  reinforce  the  roots 
and  endure  the  California  valley  frosts,  of  which  the  plant  is  very 
tolerant,  will  grow  good  crops  of  asparagus  for  years  with  proper 
cultivation,  generous  manuring,  and  occasional  salting.  Soils  which 
are  too  wet  or  too  dry  or  too  heavy  to  allow  free  growth,  yield 
inferior  shoots,  tough,  stringy,  or  bitter  as  the  case  may  be.  Of 
course  a  heavy  soil  may  be  improved  for  a  garden  bed  of  asparagus 
by  free  use  of  sand  and  manure  well  worked  through  it  but  com- 
mercial plantings  should  only  be  made  on  naturally  fit  soils. 

The  Annual  Product. — The  asparagus  product  is  upwards  of 
1500  carloads  a  year  of  which  San  Joaquin  and  Contra  Costa  coun- 
ties produce  900 ;  Sacramento  county  300 ;  San  Francisco  bay  region 
200,  and  Imperial  valley  100.  Asparagus  is  the  second  in  import- 
ance of  California  canned  vegetables — second  only  to  tomatoes, 
as  shown  in  Chapter  I.  About  one-third  of  the  product  is  canned, 
one-third  locally  consumed  as  a  fresh  vegetable,  and  one-third 
shipped  fresh  to  eastern  points.* 

Growing  the  Plants. — Asparagus  grows  readily  from  seed  and 
in  this  state  well-grown  yearling  roots  are  used  for  planting  out  in 
preference  to  older  ones.  The  house  gardener  can,  therefore,  save 
a  year's  time  by  buying  roots  from  the  seedsmen,  but  for  the  large 
plantation  the  grower  will  usually  grow  his  own  plants.  This  can 
be  done  in  the  open  air;  adequate  moisture  and  a  light,  fine  soil 
will  insure  success  the  first  year  if  the  seed  is  grown  early  enough 
to  get  the  benefit  of  a  full  season's  growth.  A  light,  coarse  soil 
which  may  be  excellent  for  the  after  growth  of  the  roots,  is  not  so 
good  for  starting  the  seedlings  because  of  danger  of  surface  drying. 
A  mixture  of  fine  sediment  will  improve  a  coarse  soil  for  this  pur- 
pose. A  very  good  way  to  get  quick  germination  and  large  root 
growth  is  to  start  the  seed  bed  in  February  or  March,  as  the  soil 
becomes  warm :  get  good,  fresh  seed ;  take  boxes,  say  apple  boxes, 
or  any  boxes  of  about  that  size ;  get  good,  clean  sand,  and  mix  sand 
and  seed  together,  about  fifteen  parts  of  sand  to  one  part  of  seed; 
fill  the  boxes  with  sand  and  seed  mixed  as  described;  set  away  in 
a  warm  place  and  pour  on  water,  quite  warm,  two  or  three  times 
during  the  first  two  days. 

In  the  meantime,  prepare  and  richly  pulverize  a  piece  of  ground 
for  a  seed-bed.  Make  rows  about  four  feet  apart  by  raking  all 
lumps  and  clods  away,  forming  a  kind  of  ditch  say  two  or  three 
inches  below  the  level  of  the  land.  Make  your  ditches  about  one 
foot  wide,  and  watch  the  seed  closely,  for  if  the  seed  is  good  in 
about  seven  days  nearly  all  the  seeds  will  begin  to  sprout.  Then 
take  the  boxes  of  sand  and  seed  to  the  prepared  ground  and  sprinkle 
it  in  the  rows  or  ditches  quite  freely,  using  judgment  all  the  time 
not  to  get  too  much  or  too  little.  Cover  up  with  finely  pulverized 

*The  fullest  account  of  the  commercial  aspects  of  California  asparagus  growing  is  given 
in  Bulletin  1  of  the  State  Market  Commission,  San  Francisco,  1916. 


GARDEN  BEDS  OF  ASPARAGUS  127 

earth  about  one  and  one-half  inches  deep,  and  if  the  ground  is 
moist  your  plants  will  be  up  and  growing  in  a  very  few  days,  at 
least  before  the  weeds  will  make  their  appearance.  Let  the  plants 
stand  there;  but  take  good  care  of  them.  They  are  very  quickly 
injured  by  drying  out.  The  bed  should  be  kept  clean  and  moist. 

This  method  gives  seedlings  scattered  through  a  space  one  foot 
wide  and  though  the  cultivator  may  be  used  between  these  foot- 
strips,  there  must  be  hand-pulling  of  weeds  within  the  strips.  For 
this  reason  some  growers  prefer  to  start  the  plants  in  thin  rows  by 
sowing  the  seed  in  a  drill  and  afterwards  spacing  the  plants  in  the 
row  to  prevent  crowding  on  the  roots.  In  this  practice  the  rows 
are  placed  one  to  two  feet  apart  according  as  hand  or  horse  cultiva- 
tion is  to  be  practiced.  Whichever  method  is  followed  it  is  import- 
ant to  start  the  seeds  in  a  slight  depression  so  that  subsequent  culti- 
vation may  level  the  ground  and  bring  a  deeper  covering  over  the 
young  root  crowns  to  guard  them  from  excessive  heat.  The  seed 
can,  however,  in  a  light  soil,  be  placed  at  a'depth  of  two  inches  and 
the  moisture  can  be  retained  near  the  surface  by  careful  raking  to 
prevent  crusting  over.  A  rake  with  thin  teeth  can  be  used  even 
after  the  seedlings  have  appeared,  to  keep  the  soil  loose  about  them. 

Planting  Out  the  Garden  Bed. — Garden  beds  or  rows  can  be 
made  by  the  old  system  of  trenching  if  it  is  desired,  although  recent 
practice  rather  discards  it.  Trench  about  eighteen  or  twenty  inches 
deep,  then  fill  up  with  well-rotted  manure,  dig  the  next  trench  and 
throw  the  dirt  over  on  top  of  the  trench  filled  with  manure,  and 
so  on  until  all  is  trenched.  Then  begin  and  stir  the  last  trench  up 
with  the  dirt,  measure  off  the  distance  the  asparagus  plants  are  to 
stand,  say  two  feet  if  for  hand  hoeing,  and  then  stick  a  stake,  set 
the  plants,  and  then  take  the  dirt  off  of  the  next  trench  to  cover  the 
plants,  and  so  on  until  over  the  ground,  when  all  the  plants  will  be 
set. 

If  the  garden  is  small,  the  soil  rich,  the  moisture  ample,  some 
other  use  can  be  made  of  the  bed  the  first  year.  The  stakes  will 
show  the  locations  of  the  asparagus  roots.  Between  these  stakes 
set  a  cabbage  plant  and  then  in  the  middle  of  the  row  set  out 
lettuce  plants,  and  sow  radishes,  carrots,  and  early  turnips.  The 
carrots  and  radishes  will  be  disposed  of  before  the  cabbages  are 
ready  and  some  other  quick-growing  vegetable  can  be  put  in,  after 
irrigation.  The  second  year  give  the  whole  ground  to  the  asparagus, 
and  in  the  fall  clean  off  the  bed,  cover  with  a  coat  of  coarse  manure 
to  keep  the  ground  from  packing  with  the  heavy  rains,  and  fork  it 
all  in  early  in  the  following  spring,  being  careful  not  to  injure  the 
root  crowns.  A  small  cutting  can  be  made  the  second  season,  but 
it  will  help  future  crops  to  cut  very  little. 

Field  Planting  of  Asparagus. — Roots  can  be  moved  from  the 
seed-bed  to  the  field  at  any  time  from  November  to  April,  accord- 
ing to  condition  of  soil  and  activity  of  roots.  As  with  other  plant- 
ings, however,  early  practice  is  better  when  all  is  favorable.  As  to 


128  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

methods  of  planting  in  the  field  the  experience  of  two  prominent 
large-scale  growers  is  given.  First,  the  method  of  Mr.  William 
Boots,  one  of  the  old  line  asparagus  growers  on  the  alluvial  lands 
of  the  Santa  Clara  valley: 

Next  March  (for  I  think  March  the  best  month  to  plant  in,  all  else  being 
equal)  choose  a  good  piece  of  land,  the  very  best  is  none  too  good,  and  plow 
just  as  deep  as  you  can.  I  plow  with  four  good  horses  on  a  single  plow,  and 
plow  one  foot  deep,  getting  the  land  in  as  good  condition  as  possible.  Take 
a  good  team  and  draw  furrows  where  the  rows  are  wanted,  going  twice  in 
the  same  place,  just  as  deep  as  we  can  get  the  plow  to  run,  throwing  the 
furrow  each  way,  making  the  distance  six  feet  between  rows.  Then  carefully 
take  up  the  plants,  carefully  separate  them,  for  if  they  have  been  very  closely 
grown  they  will  cling  together ;  spread  out  the  roots  as  you  plant  them,  clear- 
ing away  all  clods  or  anything  that  may  hinder  the  growth.  Plant  not  closer 
than  three  feet  between  plants  in  the  rows.  For  field  planting  for  the  market 
by  all  means  do  not  plant  closer  than  six  feet  between  the  rows,  and  three 
feet  apart  in  the  rows ;  for  if  there  is  a  plant  that  delights  in  plenty  of  room 
and  air  it  certainly  is  asparagus.  Cover  the  plants  about  two  inches  deep,  and 
during  the  summer  cultivation  the  pulverized  earth  will  drop  into  the  ditches, 
and  by  the  time  the  season's  cultivation  is  over  the  ditches  or  furrows  will  be 
nearly  full,  which  finishes  the  first  year  in  the  field. 

Another  method  is  that  approved  by  S.  J.  Murdock,  on  the  peat 
lands  of  Orange  county : 

The  rows  should  be  four  feet  apart  and  the  plants  eighteen  inches  from 
each  other  in  the  rows,  and  even  more  room  would  be  better  if  the  land  is 
not  too  valuable.  After  the  ground  is  well  plowed  and  finely  harrowed,  mark 
out  the  rows  the  desired  distance  apart  with  a  plow  by  going  twice  in  each 
row,  throwing  a  furrow  each  way  from  the  center  of  the  row,  and  from  eight 
to  twelve  inches  deep ;  then  go  one  or  more  rounds  in  this  with  a  cultivator, 
closed  up,  so  as  to  loosen  up  the  soil  well  in  the  bottom  of  the  row.  If  you 
have  any  fine  fertilizer  put  it  in  the  row  where  you  want  to  set  your  plants; 
mix  well  with  the  soil  and  set  your  plants  over  it.  Place  the  plants  in  the 
bottom  of  the  prepared  furrow,  spread  out  the  roots  and  cover  crown  and  all 
about  two  or  three  inches — the  lighter  the  soil  the  deeper  the  plants  should 
be  placed — so  as  to  secure  the  proper  moisture  till  they  begin  to  strike  root. 
After  the  planting  has  been  done,  take  a  light  steel  garden  rake,  or,  if  the 
rows  are  even  enough,  we  would  prefer  the  wheel  hoe  with  the  rakes  on,  and 
stir  the  soil  the  whole  length  of  the  rows.  Then,  when  the  shoots  begin  to 
grow  and  show  themselves  three  or  four  inches  high,  the  soil  should  be  gradu- 
ally hoed  or  cultivated  to  the  plants  till  the  surface  is  level.  The  ground 
should  be  kept  moist,  and  in  most  localities  irrigation  will  be  found  necessary 
to  secure  the  best  results.  Do  not  neglect  thorough  cultivation,  but  after  the 
roots  begin  to  fill  the  ground  do  not  work  too  deep,  as  there  is  danger  of 
injuring  them. 

Giving  the  plant  plenty  of  room  favors  its  productive  longevity, 
while  closer  planting  may  secure  larger  acre-yield  at  first.  In  the 
large  commercial  plantations  on  reclaimevd  lands  of  the  Sacramento 
and  San  Joaquin  river  bottoms  the  plants  are  usually  given  much 
greater  distances — say  nine  or  ten  feet  between  the  rows  and  the 
plants  two  feet  apart  in  the  row.  Much  greater  depth  of  covering 
is  secured  by  ridging  the  light,  peaty  soil,  so  that  the  shoots  have 
to  pierce  about  a  foot  of  covering  on  their  way  to  the  light.  This 


§ 

'Of) 

£ 


TREATMENT  OF  ASPARAGUS  FIELD  129 

secures  the  great  length  of  large  white  shoots  which  are  character- 
istic of  California  canned  asparagus.  The  ridges  are  made  by  the 
use  of  plows,  disks  and  crowders  which  cut  deeply  between  the 
rows  and  shift  the  soil  over  the  root  crowns.  These  ridges  are 
split  with  a  plow  or  disk  when  the  cutting  season  is  over,  and  the 
land  leveled  for  the  summer  growth.  This  is  simply  an  enlarge- 
ment of  old  practices,  as  described  below,  as  the  light  soil,  largely 
made  of  partly  decomposed  vegetation,  favors  cheap  shifting  of 
great  bulks  of  it  to  serve  different  needs  of  plants. 

Later  Treatment  of  the  Asparagus  Field. — There  are  several 
points  to  gain  in  subsequent  cultivation  of  the  asparagus  field.  One 
is  early  starting  of  the  plants,  and  for  that  purpose  some  growers 
plow  first  away  from  the  rows  to  open  the  ground  better  to  the 
winter  sunshine;  another  is  to  induce  the  growth  of  long,  tender, 
white  shoots,  and  to  retain  moisture  for  prolonging  the  cutting  sea- 
son, and  to  aid  summer  growth  of  foliage,  and  for  these  ends  the 
early  spring  plowing  is  to  cover  the  rows  with  a  deep  layer  of  loose 
soil.  Mr.  Boots'  method  is  as  follows: 

Now  do  not  attempt  to  cut  any  asparagus  until  your  plants  have  grown 
two  years,  but  cultivate  thoroughly.  The  second  season's  growth  you  will 
find  quite  strong,  and  along  in  the  fall,  after  the  frost  has  killed  the  tops, 
take  a  mowing  machine  or  scythe  and  cut  the  tops  close  to  the  ground,  pile  up 
and  burn  on  the  ground,  as  your  plants  are  too  deep  in  the  ground  to  be 
affected  by  the  fire.  Some  time  in  November  or  December  and  not  later  than 
the  first  of  January,  take  two  horses  and  plow,  and  go  along  the  rows  close 
to  the  stubs  that  you  cut  off,  throwing  the  furrows  from  the  rows,  then  follow 
along  with  sharp  hoes  and  cut  the  stubs  way  low  down;  also  break  down  the 
little  ridge  that  will  be  left  between  the  furrows.  The  sun  and  air  will  warm 
and  start  the  roots  to  growing,  sometimes  as  early  as  the  first  of  January,  and 
the  first  plowing  ought  to  be  done  before  the  sprouts  begin  to  make  their 
appearance. 

Along  in  the  early  spring  after  the  heavy  rains  are  over,  and  the  plants 
have  begun  to  push  up  nice  healthy  sprouts,  take  two  horses  and  plow,  and 
reverse  the  operation  by  throwing  the  earth  back  onto  the  rows,  leaving  the 
dead  furrow  in  the  center  between  the  rows,  covering  the  plants  up  deeply, 
leaving  the  plants  under  the  ridge.  Then  take  a  fine,  sharp-toothed  harrow, 
and  drag  along  the  rows  the  same  way  the  plow  went,  which  will  cut  up  and 
drag  out  all  clods  and  lumps,  and  leave  the  earth  in  fine  condition  for  the 
sprouts  to  come  up  through,  for  should  the  ground  not  be  in  good  order,  your 
"grass"  will  be  crippled  and  crooked.  It  will  also  be  tough,  fibrous  and  bitter. 

Continue  thorough  cultivation  with  plenty  of  manure,  no  matter  what  kind 
or  how  rough.  At  the  same  time  finely  rotted  manure  is  profitable.  There 
is  one  thing  to  be  borne  in  mind  in  the  producing  of  asparagus ;  you  can't 
fertilize  too  much.  The  better  cultivated  and  the  more  fertilizers  the  greater 
will  be  the  quantity  and  the  better  will  be  the  quality  produced.  We  plow 
thoroughly  about  three  times  a  year,  and  harrow  as  often,  and  in  the  cutting 
season  keep  the  weeds  out  with  hoes. 

The  method  of  alternately  opening  and  covering  the  rows  is 
somewhat  conditioned  upon  the  local  soil  and  rainfall.  The  looser 
the  soil  and  the  lighter  the  winter  rain,  the  less  need  of  such  opera- 
tion, because  in  such  situations  the  heat  readily  penetrates  and  the 
roots  answer  quickly  without  uncovering,  which  may  too  greatly 


130  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

facilitate  evaporation  and  thus  be  dangerous  in  dry  localities,  even 
in  the  rainy  season.  Where  these  conditions  prevail  thorough  clean- 
ing, plowing,  and  manuring  will  fit  the  field  for  the  winter.  Mr. 
Murdock  gives  this  advice: 

In  the  fall  or  early  winter,  when  the  tops  have  turned  brown,  the  ground 
should  be  cleaned  and  all  rubbish  burned,  for  if  delayed  the  seed  will  drop 
and  get  scattered,  which  will  come  up  and  may  prove  eventually  to  be  the 
worst  weed  the  grower  will  have  to  contend  with,  for  if  allowed  to  grow  after 
once  started  it  will  soon  fill  the  whole  ground  with  a  mass  of  roots,  and  very 
soon  spoil  the  whole  patch.  As  soon  as  the  ground  is  cleaned  the  whole  field 
should  be  well  cultivated,  and  coarse  manure  spread  over  the  entire  surface, 
so  that  the  rains  can  dissolve  and  carry  down  the  soluble  plant  food  to  the 
roots.  As  the  period  of  rest  here  in  our  mild  and  warm  winters  is  very  short, 
with  this  strong  and  persisting  plant  no  delay  should  be  indulged  in  furnish- 
ing the  necessary  plant  food. 

Quite  free  use  of  common  salt  is  desirable  for  asparagus  pro- 
viding the  land  is  not  naturally  saline  as  is  the  case  in  some  regions 
where  it  is  largely  grown.  Cheap,  refuse  salt  answers  well,  and  in 
garden  practice  the  use  of  any  old  brine  from  the  pickle  or  pork 
barrel.  An  application  of  five  to  ten  tons  of  stable  manure  or  one 
ton  of  a  complete  commercial  fertilizer  per  acre  can  be  frequently 
used.  One  grower  in  the  Imperial  valley  has  used  twenty  tons  of 
cow  manure  per  acre  annually  for  five  years.  On  the  best  peat 
lands  the  crop  is  grown  for  several  years  without  fertilization. 

The  surface  application  of  all  manures  at  the  beginning  of  the 
rainy  season  seems  best  to  suit  California  conditions. 

Harvesting. — Growers  agree  in  advising  very  little,  if  any,  cut- 
ting the  second  year  in  the  field.  The  third  season  should  be  very 
productive  if  the  plants  have  been  generously  treated,  and  thence 
onward  independently,  if  the  strength  of  the  soil  can  be  kept  up, 
although  canners  are  apt  to  refuse  the  product  of  plantings  over 
nine  years  old  as  likely  to  be  tough  and  bitter.  Still  older  fields  do 
yield  good  stuff  in  some  cases.  An  average  product  is  about  two 
tons  of  marketable  shoots  to  the  acre,  while  three  and  even  four 
tons  are  occasionally  secured.  Much  evidently  depends  on  the  land 
and  the  care  of  the  plantation. 

Mr.  Murdock's  suggestions  on  policies  in  cutting  are  as  fol- 
lows: 

Cut  all  the  shoots  clean  at  each  cutting  during  the  season,  whether  they 
are  large  enough  to  use  or  not,  for  if  part  of  stalks  are  allowed  to  grow  they 
will  prevent  other  buds  from  throwing  up  stalks,  and  make  the  season's  cut- 
ting short.  Keep  the  ground  well  cleaned  during  the  harvesting  period,  and 
if  you  have  been  liberal  with  your  fertilizers  and  have  kept  your  ground  moist, 
your  crop  will  last  as  long  as  a  profitable  demand  is  likely  to  exist.  Yet, 
beware  of  prolonging  the  harvesting  period  too  late,  so  as  to  weaken  the  next 
year's  crop,  as  the  nature  of  the  crop  requires  that,  to  reproduce  annually  its 
crop  of  shoots,  something  must  be  left  to  grow  so  as  to  foster  the  formation 
of  new  roots  and  a  new  set  of  buds.  If  your  season  commences  early  you 
should  lay  by  the  knife  later  on  to  correspond ;  then  let  all  the  tops  grow  and 
do  not  cull  out  the  large  shoots  afterward.  The  time  that  should  elapse  be- 


CUTTING  AND  PACKING  ASPARAGUS  131 

tween  cuttings  varies  in  different  soils,  some  being  wanner  and  consequently 
quicker  than  others;  then  again,  much  depends  on  the  weather;  some  years 
we  will  have  warm  days  in  February,  which  will  necessitate  cutting  twice  each 
week,  and  it  may  be  followed  by  cold  days  in  March,  when  the  cuttings  will 
be  meager  once  a  week;  and  again  in  the  warm  days  of  May  it  may  require 
three  cuttings  per  week  to  prevent  the  tips  from  bursting,  which  spoils  it  for 
market. 

Some  cut  with  a  long-handled  gouge  which  does  less  injury  to 
roots  by  side-cutting,  others  use  a  long  butcher  knife.  One  form 
of  cutter  is  a  tube  about  fifteen  inches  long,  with  a  handle  fitted 
in  one  end  and  the  other  end  opened  and  flattened  into  cutting 
edge,  which  is  broad,  sharp  and  forked. 

There  is  variation  in  the  demand  for  color  in  the  product.  The 
local  demand  runs  largely  for  a  green  tinge ;  the  canning  demand  is 
for  white,  and  the  eastern  shipping  demand  is  largely  for  green. 
To  produce  good,  tender,  white  asparagus  it  is  necessary  to  cover 
more  deeply  and  blanch  the  shoots  by  continued  growth  through  a 
thicker  layer  of  loose  earth.  It  is  also  necessary  to  cut  as  soon  as 
the  tip  is  seen,  which  requires  daily  cutting  in  the  height  of  the 
season.  The  knife  is  plunged  into  the  loose  ridge  through  which 
the  shoot  is  rising  so  as  to  sever  it  about  six  or  eight  inches  below 
the  surface  where  the  tip  appears. 

Comparatively  little  asparagus  is  bunched  in  California,  except 
for  fresh  shipment  to  eastern  markets;  the  bulk  of  it  being  mar- 
keted in  large  boxes  as  loose  stalks  which  are  both  wholesaled  and 
retailed  by  the  pound.  For  distance  shipments  the  boxes  are  marked 
so  that  the  stems  stand  on  their  ends  just  as  they  grow,  for  they 
are  apt  to  bend  out  of  shape  if  lying  on  the  sides.  When  the  as- 
paragus is  brought  into  the  packing  house  for  shipping  fresh  it  is 
first  separated  into  different  grades.  A  tray  of  a  size  is  then  carried 
by  a  worker  to  a  bench  where  the  asparagus  is  laid  stalk  by  stalk 
in  a  circular  press  and  tied  into  a  bunch  with  cotton  tape  or  raffia. 
All  the  bunches  are  of  one  size  and  there  is  but  one  grade  in  each 
bunch.  After  being  passed  to  an  inspector,  who  returns  any  that 
is  not  up  to  the  standard,  the  bunches  have  their  ends  cut  off  and 
are  then  wrapped  in  oiled  paper  and  packed  in  crates.  A  couple 
of  inches  of  wet  moss  is  placed  in  the  bottom  of  each  crate  to  keep 
the  asparagus  fresh,  and  an  inch  or  two  of  space  is  left  at  the  top, 
as  the  stalks  continue  to  grow  during  their  journey  and  that  amount 
of  head-room  is  desirable. 

For  near  marketing  in  the  height  of  the  season  the  asparagus 
is  usually  delivered  in  open  boxes  holding  forty  to  fifty  pounds. 
Where  bunching  is  desirable  in  garden  practice,  it  can  be  neatly 
done  by  putting  the  stalks  point  downwards  in  a  teacup,  tying  the 
bunch,  and  then  squaring  off  the  butts  with  a  sharp  knife. 

The  asparagus  season  in  California  extends  from  January  until 
June;  although  later  cutting  is  sometimes  practiced,  it  is  not,  as 
stated,  for  the  good  of  the  plants. 


132  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

The  Asparagus  Rust. — The  disease  made  a  vigorous  attack 
upon  California  asparagus  fields  in  1905.  A  careful  study  of  the 
disease  and  experimentation  conducted  by  Prof.  R.  E.  Smith  dem- 
onstrated that  the  trouble  can  be  controlled  by  proper  use  of  sul- 
phur for  the  protection  of  the  top  growth  after  the  cutting  season. 
Since  that  time,  rust  has  not  been  considered  a  menace.  Full  infor- 
mation can  be  had  from  the  University  Experiment  Station  at 
Berkeley. 

VARIETIES    CHIEFLY    GROWN    IN    CALIFORNIA. 

Conover's  Colossal :  an  old  standard  variety ;  large  tender  stalks 
of  good  flavor.  Largely  grown  for  the  canneries,  which  use  it 
almost  to  the  exclusion  of  other  sorts. 

Palmetto:  widely  grown  in  California;  claimed  to  be  earlier 
than  Conover's,  also  more  productive  and  uniform  in  size;  quality 
fine;  especially  favored  for  fresh  shipments  from  southern  Cali- 
fornia. 

Argenteuil:  also  called  "Giant  Argenteuil"  and  "Early  Purple 
Argenteuil;"  approved  for  shipping  in  Imperial  valley,  for  size  and 
colors  of  shoots  and  tenderness. 

Barr's  Mammoth,  Columbian  Mammoth,  and  Dreer's  Eclipse 
have  been  approved  for  garden  planting  to  some  extent. 


CHAPTER     XIV. 

BEANS. 

THE  BROAD  BEAN. — Vicia  faba. 

French,  feve;   German,  garten-bohne ;   Flemish,  platteboon;  Dutch,  tuin 
boonen ;  Danish,  valske  bonner ;  Italian,  fava ;  Spanish,  haba ;  Portuguese,  fava. 

THE  KIDNEY  BEAN. — Phaseolus  vulgaris. 

French,  haricot ;  German,  bohne ;  Flemish  and  Dutch,  boon ;  Danish,  have- 
bonnen;  Italian,  faginolo;  Spanish,  frijole;  Portuguese,  feijao. 

THE  SCARLET  RUNNER  BEAN. — Phaseolus  Multiflorus. 
French,  haricots  d'Espagne;  German,  Arabische  bohne;  Dutch,  Tursche 
boon;  Italian,  fagiuolo  di  Spagna. 

THE  LIMA  BEAN. — Phaseolus  lunatus. 

French,  haricots  de  Lima;   German,  breitshottige  Lima  bohne;  Italian, 
fagiuolo  di  Lima;  Spanish,  judia  de  Lima. 

THE  BLACK-EYED  BEAN. — Vigna  sinensis. 
A  cow  pea. 

THE  TEPARY  BEAN. — Phaseolus  acutifolius;  var.  latifolius. 
THE  SOY  BEAN. — Glycine  hispida. 

Of  the  vast  numbers  of  bean  varieties  known  to  horticulture, 
California  grows  but  very  few.  Market  gardeners  of  different 
nationalities,  ministering  to  their  compatriots  among  our  citizens, 
have  brought  to  California  many  varieties  which  they  esteemed  in 
their  old  homes  and  grow  them  here  in  limited  quantities,  but  the 
general  markets  and  the  gardens  and  fields  of  Americans  can  show 
but  few  sorts.  This  is  due  in  part  to  the  indisposition  of  the  people 
to  try  culinary  experiments  and  in  part  to  the  fact  that  some  va- 
rieties have  shown  peculiar  climatic  adaptations  and  are,  therefore, 
better  from  a  grower's  point  of  view.  But  though  few  varieties 
are  grown,  some  of  them  are  grown  on  a  very  large  scale — to  such 
an  extent,  in  fact,  that  five  counties  on  our  southern  coast  win  for 
California  the  distinction  of  being  the  greatest  Lima  bean  produc- 
ing country  in  the  world. 

The  capacity  of  California  for  production  of  beans  is  appar- 
ently limited  only  by  the  extent  to  which  the  produce  can  be  profit- 
ably sold.  Whenever  there  is  a  falling  off  in  local  production  of 
the  common  varieties  east  of  the  Rocky  mountains,  California  ship- 
ments are  freely  made,  and  when,  many  years  ago,  there  was  a  full 
train-load  sold  for  Boston,  California  embraced  not  only  the  profit 
thereof,  but  the  proud  satisfaction  that  she  was  really  doing  some- 
thing worth  while  for  the  maintenance  of  the  intellectual  standard 
of  the  country.  Train  loads  of  beans  have  now  become  too  com- 
mon to  attract  notice. 

r  1 11 1 


134  CALIFORNIA   VEGETABLES 

FIELD   CULTURE  OF  BEANS  IN    CALIFORNIA. 

Though  California  has  great  bean  producing  capacity,  the  area 
well  suited  to  the  product  is  comparatively  limited  and  only  a  frac- 
tion of  that  has  conditions  which  favor  the  Lima  bean  as  a  field 
crop.  Making  deductions  from  years  of  local  experience  it  may  be 
stated  that  the  summer  heat  and  drought  of  the  interior  plains  are 
offensive  to  most  varieties  of  the  bean  plant ;  that  occasional  frosts 
preclude  the  winter  growth  of  the  crop  over  wide  areas  where  ordi- 
nary winter  temperature  and  moisture  would  favor  it ;  that  summer 
heat  and  drought  modified  by  exposure  to  ocean  influences  or  by 
influences  existing  on  interior  river-bottom  lands,  are  acceptable  to 
the  plant  and  in  such  situations  is  the  chief  production.  From  a 
commercial  point  of  view  it  is  also  quite  important  that  toward 
the  end  of  the  season  there  should  be  a  reduction  of  the  amount  of 
moisture  in  the  soil,  so  that  the  plant  may  cease  its  growth  and 
mature  its  seed  before  frosts  occur  or  the  fall  rains  make  the  har- 
vesting difficult  and  stain  the  beans.  Favoring  conditions  are  thus 
seen  to  be  quite  exacting.  During  the  growing  period  of  the  plant 
there  must  be:  first,  no  frost  (except  in  the  growth  of  varieties 
of  the  Broad  Bean,  which  are  measurably  frost  resistant)  ;  second, 
the  least  possible  duration  of  hot,  dry  winds,  and  a  moderated  at- 
mospheric aridity  generally;  third,  adequate  moisture  both  in  air 
and  soil  to  maintain  healthful  vegetative  verdure  followed  by  a 
dry-soil-ripening  period  just  as  soon  as  the  vines  have  filled  pods 
enough  for  a  paying  crop. 

Local  Adaptations  to  Bean  Growing. — These  conditions  are 
prescribed  for  a  bean  crop  of  the  dry  seed.  They  are  all  found  in 
eminent  degree  on  the  coast  sides  of  six  counties :  San  Luis  Obispo, 
Santa  Barbara,  Ventura,  Los  Angeles,  Orange,  and  San  Diego,  and 
these  counties  produce  perhaps  three-fourths  of  the  commercial  bean 
crop  of  the  state.  Of  course  extensions  of  the  region  both  north 
and  south  along  the  coast  have  similar  conditions  though  in  less 
degree — deficiency  enough  to  warrant  the  remanding  of  the  chief 
crop  to  the  region  named.  Favorable  conditions  disappear  with 
even  greater  rapidity  toward  the  interior.  Each  of  the  counties  is 
disposed  on  both  sides  of  ridges  of  the  Coast  Range  mountains. 
The  ocean-side  lands  produce  the  beans;  the  interior  valleys  of  the 
same  counties,  perhaps  not  over  fifteen  miles  away,  are  beanless. 
The  mountain  ridges  exclude  the  ocean  breeze  and  the  occasional 
fogs  and  mists,  and  bean  plants  would  perish  from  dry  heat  before 
a  crop  could  be  made.  On  the  other  hand,  on  the  ocean  side  of  the 
mountains,  beans  are  planted  in  May,  after  the  rains  are  practically 
over,  and  the  ocean  tempers  heat  and  furnishes  moisture  to  the  air, 
so  that,  by  conservation  of  soil-water  by  good  cultivation,  the  crop 
is  often  made  without  a  drop  of  rain  from  seed  to  harvest. 

On  the  moist  or  irrigated  lands  of  the  interior  where  heat  and 
atmospheric  aridity  are  tempered  by  evaporation  from  large  sup- 


CALIFORNIA   BEAN    PRODUCT  135 

plies  of  fresh  water  or  moist  soil,  there  are  also  conditions  which 
suit  some  varieties  of  beans  very  well,  and  good  crops  are  made. 
But  on  interior  lowlands  there  is  often  a  summer  rising  of  moist- 
ure from  rivers,  bank-full  from  melting  mountain  snows  or  other 
sources,  which  interferes  with  proper  ripening  of  the  beans  by 
pushing  the  vegetative  growth  of  the  plants  when  they  should  be 
maturing  a  crop  already  formed.  If,  then,  early  rains  come,  the 
bean  grower  is  apt  to  be  caught  with  his  work  unfinished  and  his 
beans  stained  or  sprouting.  However,  these  troubles  are  not  serious 
enough  to  cause  the  forsaking  of  the  crop,  and  in  an  occasional 
year  of  drought,  when  the  southern  coast  counties  do  not  get  rain- 
fall enough  to  make  their  full  crop,  the  grower  on  the  interior  low- 
lands records  a  good  profit. 

The  market  value  of  the  field  bean  product  of  California  for 
the  year  1916  is  placed  at  $20,000,000,  as  noted  at  the  close  of 
Chapter  I.  The  great  valuation  is  largely  due  to  the  high  prices 
prevailing.  Quantities  are  estimated  as  follows : 

Sacks 

Limas,  sacks  of  80  pounds 1,815,000 

Pinks,  sacks  of  85  pounds 825,000 

Blackeyes,  sacks  of  80  pounds 250,000 

Small  Whites,  sacks  of  90  pounds 750,000 

Bayos,  sacks  of  85  pounds 100,000 

Large  Whites,  sacks  of  92  pounds 150,000 

Cranberry,  sacks  of  80  pounds 150,000 

Red  Mexican  and  Kidney,  sacks  of  80  pounds 50,000 


Totals 4,090,000 

Other  estimates  of  annual  crops  are  as  follows :  1916,  3,600,- 
000;  1915,  3,868,000;  1914,  2,905,000;  1913,  1,165,000;  1912,  2,013,- 
000;  1911,  2,825,000;  1910,  1,950,000;  1909,  2,340,000  sacks  averag- 
ing 80  pounds  each. 

At  an  estimate  of  20  sacks  to  the  acre  the  acreage  in  beans  in 
1916  was  180,000.  The  crop  of  1917  has  much  larger  acreage 
owing  to  war  prices  and  exhortation  to  the  greatest  possible  pro- 
duction. 

Soil  for  Beans. — A  rich  sandy  soil,  if  it  can  be  kept  moist 
enough,  is  best  suited  to  the  growth  of  beans,  and  dry,  hot,  sandy 
soil  is  the  worst,  but  even  on  sand  near  the  beach,  fair  crops  are 
sometimes  made  by  the  help  of  aerial  moisture  and  coolness.  The 
plant  does  not  require  very  great  amount  of  moisture,  if  heat  and 
atmqsphejic-aridity  are  not  too  great,  but  it  insists  upon  a  certain 
amount.  Crops  Have  been  lost  by  choosing  land  that  was  too  wet. 
But  though  a  light  soil  seems  to  best  suit  the  plant,  it  can  be  suc- 
cessfully grown  on  any  good  garden  soil,  providing  good  cultiva- 
tion is  given  and  the  land  kept  from  baking  and  drying  out.  With 
adequate  care  in  this  regard,  very  good  garden  crops  are  grown  even 
on  adobe  soil,  but  the  commercial  bean  crops  are  grown  on  light 


136  CALIFORNIA   VEGETABLES 

soils  because  there  are  obvious  cultural  advantages  in  dealing  with 
such  soils. 

Preparation  of  Land  for  Beans. — As  our  chief  crops  of  beans 
are  grown  without  irrigation  on  light  soils,  in  regions  of  moderate 
rainfall,  the  preparation  of  the  soil  should  begin  at  the  opening  of 
the  rainy  season,  so  as  to  prepare  the  land  for  receiving  and  retain- 
ing the  maximum  amount  of  the  rain  that  falls.  Growth  of  weeds 
after  harvesting  the  beans  should  be  prevented  by  cultivation,  be- 
cause weeds  draw  upon  moisture  and  would  produce  seed  for  more 
weeds.  This  cultivation  also  opens  the  surface  to  absorb  the  early 
rains.  When  the  soil  is  well  moistened  by  rain,  usually  not  later 
than  January,  a  good  plowing  is  given,  and  after  that  the  chisel- 
toothed  cultivator  and  the  harrow  or  other  tool  fitted  to  break  up 
all  compacting  of  the  soil  at  or  below  the  surface,  are  used  at  short 
intervals  through  the  winter  to  prevent  evaporation,  and  retain 
moisture  near  the  surface.  There  is  some  variation  in  winter  prac- 
tice, as  some  plow  deeply,  some  turn  a  shallow  furrow,  and  some 
low  plowing.  In  all  cases  the  end  in  view  is  the  same,  to  bring  the 
land  to  planting  time  with  moisture  retained  and  mellow  to  receive 
the  seed. 

Artificial  inoculation  of  soil  for  beans  is  not  usually  found 
necessary  in  California,  probably  because  bacteria  are  abundant 
from  the  previous  growth  of  native  legumes. 

Time  of  Planting. — Hints  of  this  consideration  have  already 
been  given  to  illustrate  other  points.  As  a  general  conclusion  it 
may  be  added  that  California  experience  clearly  points  to  undesir- 
ability  of  early  planting  simply  to  keep  abreast  of  the  calendar. 
Most  of  our  commercial  beans  are  of  the  phaseolus  varieties  (kid- 
neys, Limas,  etc.),  and  they  are  tender  and  cannot  be  planted  until 
frosts  are  over  in  each  locality.  The  broad  beans,  especially  the 
Portuguese  bean,  are  more  hardy  and  in  some  districts  grow  all 
winter,  except  in  low,  frosty  places.  The  bush  beans  are  hardier 
than  the  climbers  and  can  be  safely  planted  earlier,  but  there  is 
nothing  to  be  gained  in  planting  either  in  advance  of  a  good  condi- 
tion of  warmth  and  moisture  in  the  soil.  Rather  than  trust  the  seed 
to  soil  which  is  too  cold  or  too  wet  it  is  better  to  wait  a  little,  kill 
the  weeds  by  shallow  working,  place  the  seed  deep  enough  to 
insure  its  contact  with  moisture  and  then  trust  to  the  more  rapid 
growth  of  the  plant  to  make  up  for  the  delay.  This  it  will  usually 
do,  and  will  shoot  ahead  so  that  it  will  be  of  good  size  for  cultiva- 
tion by  the  time  the  weeds  need  another  cutting.  Just  the  time 
when  the  proper  soil  conditions  may  be  expected  to  arrive  will  differ 
in  the  different  localities,  according  to  local  rainfall  and  spring  tem- 
peratures, the  beginning  of  the  frost-free  period,  the  nature  of  the 
soil,  etc.  As  a  generalization,  however,  it  may  be  put  at  May  1  to 
May  15  on  the  coast,  with  a  range  of  May  1  to  July  10  for  interior 
lowlands  in  the  central  and  northern  parts  of  the  state — chiefly  to 
allow  moist  lands  to  come  into  planting  condition,  or  to  defer  bloom- 


WAYS   TCf  PLANT   BEANS  137 

ing  until  the  hot  spells  of  June  and  July  are  passed.  Such  late 
planting  is  only  safe  on  moist  or  irrigated  lands  in  places  where 
early  fall  frosts  are  not  to  be  expected.  Late  planting  is  believed 
to  reduce  the  danger  from  red  spider. 

As  to  condition  of  soil  and  weather  at  planting  Lima  beans,  in 
the  coast  regions  where  they  are  grown,  it  may  be  said  that  ample 
heat  in  connection  with  soil  moisture  is  necessary  to  start  this  va- 
riety, and  planting  is  rushed  during  a  warm  spell  to  insure  these 
conditions.  A  rain  after  planting  is  counted  a  detriment,  for  if 
the  temperature  of  the  soil  falls  too  low  the  seed  is  apt  to  rot.  Be- 
sides a  shower  means  more  weeds,  and  some  large  growers  count  it 
cheaper  to  plow  up  the  field  and  replant  than  to  clean  out  the 
weeds  in  the  rows.  Small  growers,  however,  usually  undertake  the 
hoeing  rather  than  sacrifice  the  plant  if  the  stand  is  a  good  one. 

Manner  of  Planting. — All  commercial  crops  of  beans,  whether 
of  bush  or  running  varieties,  are  grown  in  rows.  The  planting  is 
done  with  machines  of  different  makes  and  sizes,  though  usually 
planting  from  two  to  four  rows  at  a  time.  Depth  is  determined  by 
the  character  of  the  soil  and  the  season.  The  bean  must  be  placed 
in  moist  soil,  and  if  the  surface  is  light  and  prone  to  dry  out  quickly, 
the  greater  depth  is  given,  but  the  bean  does  not  endure  as  deep 
covering  as  some  other  large  seed.  In  a  moist  surface  an  inch  will 
do,  but  in  very  light  surface  two  inches  is  better.  In  some  cases 
even  a  little  more  is  desirable.  It  must  be  remembered  that  a  few 
days'  moisture  must  be  assured  to  the  seed  to  allow  it  to  take  hold 
of  the  soil. 

In  light  soils  liable  to  strong  winds,  the  planter  should  run  at 
right  angles  to  the  course  of  the  wind,  for  it  has  been  observed  that 
the  sand  is  more  easily  shifted  when  the  wind  has  the  lengthwise 
course  of  the  drills. 

Distance  is  dependent  upon  the  variety.  Lima  beans  are  usually 
placed  in  rows  about  forty  inches  apart,  with  the  planter  rigged  to 
drop  seed  at  an  average  of  about  ten  inches  apart,  in  the  row.  Small 
beans  of  various  kinds  are  given  two  to  two  and  one-half  feet  be- 
tween the  rows,  and  about  four  inches  distance  in  the  row. 

Once  Over  the  Ground  at  Planting. — On  land  disposed  to  pack 
under  heavy  tools  bean  crops  have  been  put  in  on  land  plowed  the 
previous  fall  in  this  way.  At  the  planting  time  in  the  spring  use  a 
bean  chisel,  pulled  by  a  tractor,  with  a  harrow  hitched  on  behind, 
then  a  bean  planter  of  multiple  style  and  behind  that  a  drag.  This 
does  the  plowing,  the  cultivating  and  planting,  and  drags  the  land 
to  keep  the  moisture  in,  all  in  one  operation,  and  so  does  not  be- 
gin to  pack  the  soil  as  much  as  if  two  or  three  separate  operations 
were  made. 

Cultivation. — Frequent  cultivation  with  knife-shaped  teeth,  is 
practiced  in  the  best  bean  soils,  to  kill  weeds  and  loosen  the  surface, 
until  the  running  varieties  cover  the  space  so  that  they  would  be 
injured  by  cultivation.  The  vines  then  cover  the  ground  and  check 


138  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

evaporation  and  the  crop  is  left  to  its  own  course.  With  bush  va- 
rieties longer  and  deeper  cultivation  is  desirable,  at  least  if  the 
ground  is  apt  to  become  compact,  so  that  the  earth-mulch  described 
in  the  chapter  on  cultivation  is  maintained.  One  grower  at  Marys- 
ville,  who  gets  a  very  large  yield  of  Lady  Washingtons,  starts  in 
with  chisel-toothed  cultivators  as  soon  as  the  rows  can  be  deter- 
mined and  continues  at  four-  or  five-day  intervals  as  long  as  the 
cultivators  can  get  through  the  rows.  Eight  to  ten  cultivations  are 
given,  the  cost  being  about  35  cents  an  acre  for  each  cultivation, 
$3.50  an  acre  for  the  season,  which  he  considers  a  good  investment 
for  a  greater  crop. 

Irrigation. — Except  on  low  moist  land  bean  crops  are  usually 
considerably  increased  by  irrigation.  A  long  run  of  a  small  head 
of  water  in  furrows  between  the  rows  is  the  common  method,  and 
one  or  two  irrigations  as  needed  in  June  and  July  are  counted 
sufficient. 

Gathering. — Gathering  the  crop  cannot  usually  wait  until  all 
the  beans  have  ripened,  for  fear  of  shelling  out  the  earlier  maturing 
pods  of  some  varieties,  and  for  fear  also  of  the  fall  rains  already 
mentioned.  Cutting  should  begin  when  the  grower's  judgment  tells 
him  he  is  about  midway  between  the  two  dangers.  The  date  will, 
of  course,  vary  in  different  localities.  The  Lima  bean  has  a  longer 
growing  season,  and  on  the  south  coast  is  liable  to  encounter  serious 
hot  spells  in  August  or  September  after  other  beans  are  matured 
and  beyound  injury.  This  heat  shrivels  the  immature  pods  and  les- 
sens the  crop. 

Hand  pulling  or  cutting  of  the  vines,  or  plowing  out,  is  no 
longer  practiced  in  larger  fields.  A  cutter  operated  by  horse  power 
is  generally  used.  Two  planks  are  framed  and  braced  in  sled-form, 
with  cross  pieces  on  the  top,  about  four  feet  apart.  From  each, 
on  the  inside,  a  steel  blade  projects  diagonally  toward  the  center, 
some  two  feet,  being  fastened  to  the  bottom  of  the  sled  runner. 
Two  or  three  horses  are  hitched  to  the  sled,  which  encloses  two 
rows  of  beans;  the  blades  of  steel  cut  off  the  vines  beneath  the 
surface  and  push  them  into  a  central  windrow  so  that  they  are 
readily  gathered  with  pitch-forks  and  are  thrown  into  heaps.  An- 
other form  of  bean  cutter  is  a  sled  armed  with  knives  six  feet  long 
which  come  together  in  front  and  spread  far  enough  behind  to  cut 
two  rows  at  once.  With  these  outside  cutting  knives  the  sled  is 
not  over  two  feet  wide.  Some  growers  aim  to  have  these  knives 
run  in  the  loose  surface  soil  at  a  depth  of  about  two  inches ;  others 
run  them  deeper — along  the  top  of  the  firm  earth  below  the  culti- 
vated layer. 

There  are  some  local  variations  in  the  form  of  the  "cutter"  or 
"harvester,"  and  in  some  cases  an  iron-frame  cutter  constructed  on 
the  model  of  a  V-shaped  cultivator  with  guiding  wheel  is  used. 
Recently  manufacturers  have  designed  improved  forms  of  bean 
cutters  which  are  displacing  the  old  home-made  contrivances  and 


HARVESTING   BEANS  139 

are  much  more  capable  in  handling  heavier  growth  of  vines  such 
as  are  made  by  ''black-eyes."  Growers  of  large  bean  acreages  should 
study  carefully  to  determine  what  devices  are  locally  used  with 
greatest  economy  and  success. 

The  beans  are  allowed  to  be  in  the  field  in  small  piles  for  two 
to  four  weeks,  according  to  the  curing  quality  of  the  local  climate, 
until  the  vines  are  well  dried.  This  not  only  facilitates  the  opening 
of  the  pods  but  saves  the  beans  from  staining  by  contact  with  green 
leaves  or  by  the  damp  dust  they  gather. 

Threshing-floors. — The  early  method  of  threshing  was  by  the 
of  the  threshing-floor,  and  it  is  still  practiced  or  held  in  view  to 
prevent  excessive  charges  by  machine  owners.  It  is  tedious  work, 
requires  many  animals  and  exposes  the  beans  to  greater  injury  by 
early  rains.  A  threshing-floor  is  made  by  wetting  down  a  circular 
piece  of  ground  about  sixty  or  eighty  feet  across,  tramp  it  with 
horses  and  wagons  until  smooth  and  hard ;  then  cover  the  floor  with 
straw  for  a  few  days  until  it  is  dry,  when  it  is  ready  for  the  beans. 
The  first  flooring  of  beans  is  put  on  deep,  so  the  horses'  hoofs  do 
not  cut  the  floor.  Care  should  be  taken  all  the  time  during  threshing 
not  to  cut  the  floor.  Two  or  three  big  wagon  loads  of  beans  are 
placed  in  a  ring  on  this  floor  during  very  dry,  clear  weather.  For- 
merly horses  attached  to  light  wagons  were  driven  over  the  beans 
(usually  two  or  three  teams  at  a  time),  till  they  were  all  shelled 
from  the  pods.  The  vines  are  then  thrown  of!  and  more  beans  from 
the  field  brought  on.  This  process  is  continued  until  there  are  many 
tons  of  beans  on  the  floor  under  those  that  are  being  threshed  out. 
After  this  the  whole  mass  of  chaff  and  beans  is  run  through  win- 
nowing and  screening  machines  and  the  beans  placed  in  sacks  of 
seventy-five  to  eighty  pounds  each  and  are  ready  for  market.  Of 
late  years  the  teams  on  the  floor  are  attached  to  disc  machines  in- 
stead of  wagons,  which  greatly  facilitates  the  work.  The  use  of 
a  large  roller  on  the  threshing  floor  is  preferred  by  some  growers. 

In  suitable  weather  tramping  is  a  less  expensive  method  than 
threshing  by  machinery,  but  there  is  far  greater  danger  from  sud- 
den storms  of  rain,  as  beans  on  the  tramping-floor  are  in  the  worst 
possible  shape  in  wet  weather.  Beans  in  the  field  can  stand  an  inch 
or  two  of  rain  without  much  injury,  if  allowed  to  thoroughly  dry 
before  threshing.  But  beans  wet  on  a  tramping-floor  while  mixed 
with  pulverized  leaves  are  irreparably  damaged,  being  stained  and 
heated  before  it  is  possible  to  clean  them.  Every  farmer  who  tramps 
out  his  beans  should  be  provided  with  sheets  of  canvas  sufficient  to 
cover  all  unwinnowed  or  sacked  beans  liable  to  be  left  out  during  a 
shower.  During  extreme  dry  weather  beans  can  be  tramped  well, 
the  pods  being  dry  and  brittle  while  the  vines  are  still  green  and 
tough,  a  condition  in  which  a  machine  cannot  work  in  them  at  all. 
Machine  Threshing. — For  many  years  attempts  were  made  to 
use  modified  grain  threshers  for  separating  beans.  At  first  there 
was  too  great  a  percentage  of  cracked  beans,  but  latterly  machine 


140  CALIFORNIA   VEGETABLES 

work  has  become  more  satisfactory.     The   following  account  of 
bean  threshing  is  prepared  by  L.  W.  Fluharty: 

The  threshing  is  usually  done  with  the  bean  huller,  using  either  a  steam 
or  gasoline  engine  for  power.  The  huller  is  a  double  threshing  machine. 
There  are  two  cylinders,  one  of  which  is  placed  in  the  rear  of  the  other.  The 
rear  cylinder  operates  much  faster  than  does  the  front  one.  The  cylinder  teeth 
are  set  one-fourth  of  an  inch  farther  from  the  concave  teeth  than  in  the  reg- 
ular grain  separator.  The  front  cylinder  threshes  only  the  beans  from  the 
driest  pods.  The  vines,  together  with  the  tougher  pods  pass  to  the  rear  cylin- 
der, thus  the  beans  and  the  tougher  pods  are  threshed  by  the  high  velocity 
cylinder  while  the  dry  beans  pass  through  only  the  one  running  at  a  low  rate 
of  speed.  Much  cracking  is  prevented  by  this  arrangement. 

A  grain  separator  may,  by  proper  manipulation,  be  made  to  do  very  satis- 
factory work  provided  the  vines  and  pods  are  nearly  uniform  in  dryness.  All 
but  one  row  of  concave  teeth  and  generally  half  of  the  cylinder  teeth  are  re- 
moved. The  cylinder  is  run  at  a  speed  of  from  350  to  400  revolutions  per 
minute,  the  speed  depending  upon  the  diameter  of  the  cylinder — the  larger  the 
cylinder  the  slower  it  must  be  run.  The  drive  pulley  is  enlarged  so  that  the 
separating  part  of  the  machine  runs  at  the  usual  speed  for  separating  grain. 

The  tailings  from  the  sieves  are  returned  to  the  separator  at  the  rear 
instead  of  in  front  of  the  cylinder.  By  this  arrangement  none  of  the  threshed 
beans  pass  through  the  cylinder  the  second  time.  If  there  is  a  large  amount 
of  green  pods  the  tailings  are  sometimes  taken  from  the  machine  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  elevator.  In  this  way  it  is  often  possible  to  avoid  mixing  the  green 
beans  with  those  that  are  ripe.  If  the  regular  grain  separator  is  used  the 
threshing  should  be  done  while  the  vines  are  in  the  sweat,  for  at  that  time  the 
seed  is  tough  and  not  easily  cracked. 

The  beans  are  gathered  into  header  wagons,  with  beds  ten  feet 
wide  and  sixteen  feet  long.  One  side  of  the  bed  is  considerably 
higher  than  the  other,  and  a  large  and  strong  net  is  spread  over  the 
entire  bed,  fastened  on  one  side,  and  into  which  the  beans  are  forked. 
This  is  driven  to  the  threshing  machine,  where  a  derrick  lifts  up  the 
lower  side  of  the  net  and  tumbles  the  contents  onto  a  large  platform, 
after  which  the  straw  and  beans  are  fed  into  the  machine  with  pitch- 
forks. It  requires  eight  header  wagons  to  keep  the  machine  busy. 
Fifteen  hundred  sacks,  averaging  seventy  pounds  each,  or  one  hun- 
dred and  five  thousand  pounds,  is  considered  a  good  day's  work. 

The  machine-threshed  beans  have  also  to  be  recleaned  before 
they  are  marketed.  Yet  there  is  one  great  advantage  with  the  steam 
thresher.  The  rainy  season  is  approaching,  and  a  shower  is  liable 
to  fall  in  October  while  the  threshing  process  is  in  full  blast,  so  that 
any  beans  that  are  caught  on  the  floors  are  ruined  if  they  do  not 
manage  to  cover  them  in  some  way,  while  by  the  machine  process 
all  beans  are  sacked  as  they  are  threshed. 

Bean  Cleaning. — It  is  imperative  now  that  beans  should  be  put 
into  good  marketable  condition.  When  prices  are  high  the  quality 
and  condition  of  the  beans  does  not  materially  interfere  with  the 
sales,  but  in  times  of  plenty,  the  best  is  hardly  good  enough  and  the 
most  scrupulous  attention  is  given  as  to  the  quality.  To  insure  the 
most  ready  sale  at  best  prices,  every  grower  should  have  the  reputa- 
tion of  putting  his  beans  in  the  sack  for  sale  in  thoroughly  sound  and 


INSECTS  INJURING  BEANS  141 

clean  condition,  even  by  hand-picking  if  necessary.  A  dirty  lot  of 
beans  from  any  locality  injures  not  the  grower  alone  but  casts  sus- 
picion on  all  the  product  of  that  place.  In  preventing  this,  associated 
effort  of  growers  has  accomplished  much. 

Bean  Bugs. — Three  insects  particularly  bother  the  grower. 
They  are  weevils,  red-spider  and  thrips.  The  weevil  is  started  in 
the  green  growing  bean,  the  egg  being  laid  on  the  seam  of  the  pod 
when  small.  Beans  should  be  gathered  as  soon  as  ripe.  If  there  are 
then  bean  larvae  working  on  them,  they  can  be  killed  by  heating 
the  beans  to  130  degrees  in  the  oven,  but  of  course  one  must  not 
get  higher  heat  if  it  is  expected  to  plant  any  of  the  beans  next  year. 
The  larvae  can  also  be  killed  by  putting  the  sack  in  a  tight  barrel 
and  pouring  carbon  bisulphide  into  an  open  dish  on  top  of  the  seed. 
An  ounce  for  each  75  to  100  pounds  is  recommended.  As  the  fumes 
from  the  liquid  settle  among  the  beans,  all  of  the  weevils  are  killed. 
The  gas  should  be  allowed  to  act  from  24  to  36  hours,  and  as  it  is 
highly  explosive  it  should  not  be  exposed  to  artificial  light  or  fire. 

If  the  growing  plants  have  whitish  or  yellowish  leaves  with 
roughened  surfaces  either  red  spider  or  thrips,  or  both,  are  at  work. 
Red  spider  is  destroyed  by  dry  sulphuring  the  foliage.  Thrips  re- 
quire spraying  with  a  soap  and  nicotine  wash  such  as  is  described 
in  Chapter  XXXVIII. 

Rotation  of  Crops. — It  has  been  the  experience  of  bean  growers 
hitherto  that  many  crops  of  beans  can  be  grown  successfully  on  the 
same  soil  without  great  difference  in  the  yield — that  is,  the  land 
does  not  clearly  show  wear,  and  some  claim  that  following  crops 
are  better  by  growing  beans  after  beans.  It  is  clear  that  following 
a  bean  crop  improves  barley,  potatoes  or  other  succeeding  crops. 
This  might  be  expected  from  what  is  now  known  of  the  power  of 
the  legumes  to  fix  atmospheric  nitrogen  by  means  of  their  roots. 
Our  best  bean  soils  are  so  rich  naturally  that  they  are  able  to  en- 
dure a  long  cropping  period  and  growers  are  apt  to  look  upon  the 
soil  as  a  constant  factor  and  wish  that  the  weather  could  be  placed 
in  the  same  category. 

VARIETIES    FOR    FIELD    CULTURE. 

The  Lima  Bean. — The  Lima  is  the  great  bean  of  California  so 
far  as  the  outside  world  is  concerned,  because  though  other  beans 
are  grown  everywhere,  a  small  area  of  our  state,  as  already  men- 
tioned, is  especially  adapted  by  its  favoring  local  climate  to  the 
growth  of  this  rather  exacting  variety.  The  variety  grown  is  the 
old  "Large  Lima,"  well  known  to  the  trade  and  well  adapted  to  the 
region,  and  however  popular  the  dwarf  Limas  may  become  as 
garden  varieties  they  do  not  promise  to  supplant  the  old  sort  in  its 
stronghold.  Improved  strains  are  being  secured  by  selection  by 
several  Ventura  county  growers,  and  much  greater  yield  to  the  plant 
is  foreshadowed.  Though  the  Lima  is  a  running  bean  no  support  is 
given  it  in  field  culture.  It  is  safe  and  comfortable  reclining  on  the 


142  CALIFORNIA   VEGETABLES 

dry,  warm  soil,  with  its  verdure  always  freshened  by  the  breezes  of 
the  Pacific,  which  lies  in  plain  sight  of  most  fields.  Thousands  of 
acres  are  thus  laid  out  green  and  level  as  a  meadow  to  the  distant 
viewer — the  scene  unmarred  by  fence  or  other  obstruction,  for  the 
fields  are  usually  subject  to  no  unwelcome  intrusion  except  hot  blasts 
of  air  which  rarely  beat  back  the  ocean  breeze  and  harm  the  plant. 
In  most  years  without  a  drop  of  summer  rain  and  held  in  heart  by 
the  insensible  ocean  vapor  and  occasionally  by  fog  and  mist,  the  Lima 
bean  often  yields  the  growers  an  average  of  a  ton  to  the  acre  of 
good  land,  and  sometimes  does  more  than  fifty  per  cent  better  than 
that.  On  large,  uneven  tracts,  the  average  would,  of  course,  be  less. 
In  1911  in  Los  Angeles  county  1,364  acres  yielded  22,000  sacks — 
about  1,300  Ibs.  to  the  acre.  During  recent  years,  preceding  the 
European  war,  the  price  of  Lima  beans  had  been  reduced,  but  there 
still  remained  a  narrow  margin,  because  production  was  accom- 
plished at  less  cost  through  improved  methods  and  machinery. 
There  is  also  an  association  of  Lima  bean  growers  which  is  assist- 
ing producers  to  secure  all  that  the  market  will  warrant.  Lima 
bean  straw  is  an  important  by-product,  as  it  sells  readily  to  stock- 
feeders  at  $4  to  $5  per  ton,  according  to  the  demand  in  different 
years — and  in  a  time  of  scarce  fodder  has  sold  as  high  as  $15  per 
ton  as  a  substitute  for  hay. 

The  Small  White  Bean. — This  is  the  accepted  local  name  for 
the  variety  which  is  called  the  Navy  bean  at  the  East.  The  seed 
was  brought  from  the  state  of  New  York  as  far  back  as  1852.  The 
Small  White  has  a  polished  or  varnished  surface  which  prevents 
rapid  absorption  of  moisture.  This  not  only  especially  fits  it  for 
shipping  by  sea  and  gives  it  great  keeping  quality,  but  it  enables  the 
bean  to  hold  its  form  through  cooking  processes.  Large  quantities 
are  shipped  to  Boston,  where  they  are  used  in  preparing  "Boston 
canned  beans,"  which  are  sold  all  over  the  United  States.  The 
Small  White  Bean  is  chiefly  grown  in  Monterey,  San  Luis  Obispo 
and  Santa  Barbara  counties. 

The  Pea  Bean. — This  is  another  Small  White  bean  which  was 
introduced  into  California  early  in  the  fifties.  The  variety  has  a 
very  thin  transparent  skin  which  admits  moisture  readily  and  is  apt 
to  disintegrate  in  cooking.  The  Pea  bean  is  grown  along  the  Sac- 
ramento river  and  in  Ventura  county,  but  not  in  large  amounts. 

The  Large  White  Bean. — This  variety  is  also  known  as  the 
Lady  Washington.  At  the  East  it  is  rated  in  the  trade  as  a  medium 
bean;  it  is  a  little  larger  than  the  Small  White.  The  seed  was  in- 
troduced from  the  East  in  early  times.  The  variety  is  chiefly  grown 
in  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  river  country  and  in  the  central 
coast  counties. 

The  Bayo  Bean. — There  are  two  varieties  grown,  the  Bayo 
Grande  and  Bayo  Chico.  The  former  is  large,  the  latter  small; 
both  are  brown.  The  seed  came  from  Chile  in  1849.  The  Bayo  is 
chiefly  grown  in  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  river  region. 


VARIETIES  OF  BEANS  143 

There  is  also  a  dark  red  bean  which  was  brought  from  Chile,  and 
usually  named  from  its  color. 

The  Pink  Bean. — This  variety  is  sufficiently  described  by  its 
name.  It  has  been  in  California  so  long  that  its  origin  is  unknown, 
and  our  best  bean  merchants  have  never  seen  it  from  any  other 
source  than  this  state.  It  is  a  first-class  bean,  and  the  citizens  of 
Spanish  descent  prefer  it  to  all  other  varieties,  and  it  is  largely 
grown  for  their  use  in  San  Luis  Obispo  county.  It  is  grown  to  a 
considerable  extent  in  Sacramento  river  lands  and  is  perhaps  the 
most  successful  variety  at  points  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley.  It  holds 
place  also  in  the  southern  coast  district. 

Mexican  Red. — Like  the  Pink,  but  darker  colored,  and  like  it, 
hardy  and  productive  under  different  conditions. 

Cranberry. — Another  pink  and  red  bean  which  is  gaining  some 
standing  as  a  dry  bean. 

Red  Kidney. — An  old  garden  variety  chiefly  in  demand  by 
canners.  The  largest  colored  bean  but  not  largely  grown. 

Tepary. — A  small,  white  bean  from  Arizona,  believed  to  be  of 
ancient  origin  and  fully  discussed  in  the  publications  of  the  Arizona 
Experiment  Station.  It  recently  became  widely  popular  in  Cali- 
fornia because  of  its  heat  resistance  and  heavy  bearing  in  interior 
valley  situations,  which  distress  most  of  the  widely  known  varieties. 
Its  commercial  standing  is  not  fully  determined. 

The  Butter  Bean. — This  is  the  local  name  for  what  is  known 
as  the  "Flageolet"  in  France,  whence  the  seed  was  brought  to  this 
state.  It  is  large,  white  and  flattish.  It  is  going  out  of  production 
here,  as  the  seed  is  apparently  running  out,  the  size  being  only  half 
that  of  thirty-five  or  forty  years  ago. 

The  Black-eye  Bean. — It  is  thought  that  this  variety  came  from 
Virginia.  It  is  grown  in  all  the  leading  bean  districts.  This  and 
other  of  the  "cow  pea"  group  are  grown  to  some  extent,  as  a  cover 
crop  for  plowing  under,  in  the  citrus  orchards,  and  a  seed  crop  is 
also  sometimes  harvested  in  the  citrus  districts. 

The  Soy  Bean. — This  Asiatic  species,  which  has  many  varieties, 
is  grown  to  a  limited  amount  by  Chinese  and  Japanese  on  river 
bottom  and  reclaimed  lands,  both  for  forage  and  food. 

The  Horse  Bean. — A  broad  bean,  chiefly  grown  by  Portuguese 
in  the  San  Francisco  Bay  region;  hardy  and  prolific,  making  free 
winter  growth  where  freezing  is  quite  sharp.  The  beans  are  very 
subject  to  weevils  and,  therefore,  are  in  bad  commercial  repute. 
They  are  now  being  widely  grown  for  green  manuring  as  they  use 
surplus  rainfall  moisture.  They  are  upright  growers  and  ordinary 
bean  harvesting  methods  are  not  generally  used.  The  stalks  may 
be  cut  with  hand  sickles  but  a  combined  self-raking  reaper  is  some- 
times used.  The  dry  crop  is  used  for  stock- feeding. 

The  Castor  Bean. — Though  the  Castor  bean  is  inedible,  some 
reader  may  expect  its  name  to  carry  it  into  this  connection.  As  a 
profitable  crop  the  Castor  bean  has  been  a  disappointment.  There 


144  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

were  more  Castor  beans  grown  in  California  before  1875  than  there 
have  ever  been  since.  The  price  has  always  been  limited  by  what 
oil-makers  had  to  pay  for  beans  laid  down  here  from  Calcutta,  and 
that  was  too  low  to  meet  high  labor  cost  in  California.  There  is  a 
long  ripening  and  drying  season  in  California,  but  the  crop  re- 
quires much  hand  labor  cutting  the  clusters  as  they  reach  condi- 
tion all  through  the  fall,  and  in  drying  the  clusters  so  the  beans  will 
pop  out.  Oil  makers  will  not  pay  enough  to  cover  this  cost.  The 
large  ornamental  Castor  bean  plants  which  are  abundant  in  this 
state  are  not  the  oil-making  variety. 

GARDEN    CULTURE    OF    BEANS. 

Much  that  has  been  said  about  the  field  growth  of  beans  ap- 
plies to  the  garden  culture.  Condition  of  soil  and  time  for  planting 
are  practically  the  same,  and  so  are  the  characters  of  the  growing 
season,  except  that  the  gardener  cares  little  for  the  maturing  of  his 
crop,  but  prefers  a  green  succession.  A  condition  of  late  summer 
moisture,  then,  that  would  be  a  serious  trouble  in  the  field,  is  an 
advantage  in  the  garden.  For  a  product  of  beans  as  a  green  vege- 
table, the  drying  out  which  promotes  maturity  is  to  be  prevented, 
and  if  this  is  successfully  done,  either  upon  naturally  moist  or  irri- 
gated land,  the  bean  plants  will  continue  their  yield  of  green  pods 
until  frost  cuts  them  down.  As  California  has,  as  a  rule,  a  very 
long  frostless  season,  the  bearing  season  of  green  pluckings  may 
cover  several  months. 

In  frostless  places,  or  in  places  of  light  frosts,  where  the  grower 
affords  slight  protective  'covering,  the  bean  continues  its  growth  and 
bearing  into  the  winter  and  vines  of  some  varieties  assert  their 
perennial  character.  Even  where  the  frosts  cut  down  the  top,  some 
of  the  phaseolus  varieties  maintain  their  life  and  start  again  freely 
from  the  old  roots  when  the  spring  warmth  invites  activity. 

The  continued  growth  of  the  bean  late  in  the  fall,  in  the  ab- 
sence of  frost,  sometimes  affords  a  better  late  than  early  crop, 
because  certain  insets  which  destroy  the  early  blossoms  cease  from 
their  labors,  or  because  too  high  heat  no  longer  blights  the  bloom. 
It  is  often  the  reward  of  the  amateur  gardener,  who  promotes  late 
growth  of  his  bean  plants  by  continued  irrigation,  to  gather  ample 
supplies  of  tender  pods  when  less  diligent  growers  have  none.  Mid- 
summer bean  planting  on  moist  interior  lands  is  also  a  good  practice, 
as  it  gives  the  plant  a  growing  season  in  the  fall  when  the  hot  and 
dry  summer  conditions  are  relaxed. 

The  planting  of  beans  in  frostless  situations  in  the  fall  for  a 
winter  crop  is,  of  course,  a  limited  enterprise,  and  attended  by  con- 
siderable risk,  because  never  having  a  frost,  means  hardly  ever,  and 
yet  good  returns  are  often  made  in  a  few  places  already  designated 
in  the  chapters  on  climates  and  the  planting  season. 

The  winter  preparation  for  field  planting  on  the  light  soils  that 
are  mainly  used  for  that  purpose  will  do  for  the  same  soils  and  situa- 


BEANS  IN  THE  HOME  GARDEN  145 

tions  for  garden  growth,  but  where  beans  have  to  go  upon  rather 
heavier  soil  in  regions  of  heavier  rains,  it  is  necessary  to  give  more 
thorough  spring  cultivation  to  overcome  the  compacting  of  the  soil 
by  the  rain,  and  make  it  suitably  mellow  for  the  crop.  For  this 
purpose,  spring  plowing  twice,  the  second  shallower  than  the  first, 
and  good  harrowing  following  the  second  plowing,  are  desirable. 
All  this  work  should  be  done  when  the  soil  works  freely,  and 
only  then. 

In  rainfall  garden  practice,  where  moisture  is  short,  the  land 
should  lie  in  shape  for  taking  in  water  all  during  the  earlier  part 
of  the  rainy  season,  and  not  be  cropped  nor  left  hard  for  the  spring 
working,  but  where  moisture  is  ample,  the  land  may  carry  first  a 
fall-planted  crop  of  hardy  vegetables  for  winter  use,  provided  this 
crop  is  cleared  away  by  February  and  the  land  put  into  condition  to 
store  up  the  spring  rains  for  the  use  of  the  beans.  This  practice 
depends  upon  the  likelihood  of  the  late  rains  being  generous,  and 
the  soil  being  retentive  enough. 

In  garden  practice  young  beans  are  quite  subject  to  "damping 
off,"  as  discussed  in  Chapter  XL  The  lower  part  of  the  little  stem, 
from  the  ground  upward  for  a  couple  of  inches,  loses  color — be- 
coming limp  and  palid  and  the  upper  part  wilting  and  dying  after- 
wards. The  preventive  is  to  allow  the  soil  surface  to  become  dry, 
which  may  be  promoted  by  cultivation,  as  soon  as  the  seedlings 
appear,  or  by  sanding  the  surface  around  them.  It  is  much  less 
likely  to  occur  when  a  good  deep-soaking  irrigation  is  employed 
instead  of  frequent  sprinkling,  which  keeps  the  surface  too  moist. 

Bush  Beans. — Varieties  of  this  class  are  hardier  than  most 
climbing  beans  and  are  safely  planted  earlier — perhaps  from  one  to 
two  weeks  usually,  but  they  should  not  be  planted  until  the  soil  be- 
comes warm  and  loses  its  excess  of  water.  For  hand-hoeing  the 
rows  can  be  fifteen  to  eighteen  inches  apart,  and  for  horse  cultiva- 
tion two  feet.  About  four  inches  apart  in  the  drill,  and  covered 
from  one  to  two  inches,  according  to  soil  and  season,  is  ordinary 
practice.  The  plants  can  also  be  grown  in  hills.  If  the  ground  is  in 
good  condition  the  seed  can  be  planted  before  the  lighter  frosts  of 
spring  are  all  over,  and  by  slight  covering  they  can  be  carried 
through.  The  bush  varieties  will  endure  more  cold  and  more  heat 
than  the  climbing  sorts,  but  any  considerable  planting  should  wait 
until  the  frost  danger  for  the  locality  is  over.  Later  plantings 
should  be  made  at  short  intervals,  for  succession  and  irrigation 
must  usually  be  resorted  to  quite  early  in  the  summer,  except  on 
moist  land  or  on  the  immediate  coast. 

Bush  beans  are  usually  divided  into  two  groups:  those  with 
green  pods  and  those  with  waxen,  or  light  yellow  pods.  The  fol- 
lowing are  favorites  in  this  state: 

Early  Mohawk,  hardy  and  early  for  early  crop,  large  flattish 
pods. 


146  CALIFORNIA   VEGETABLES 

Dwarf  Horticultural,  or  Cranberry,  vigorous  grower,  large 
leaves ;  pods  medium,  curved ;  beans  pale  pink,  marked  with  red. 

Burpee  Stringless,  Green  Pod,  early,  straight,  roundish  pod, 
brittle  and  stringless. 

Extra  Early  Valentine,  said  to  be  fit  to  gather  in  thirty-five  to 
forty  days  from  planting,  green  pod,  medium  sized,  fleshy,  keeps 
green  longer  than  most  kinds — a  favorite  in  the  Sacramento  valley. 
Extra  Early  Refugee,  popular  with  early  vegetable  shippers, 
round  pods,  bright  green,  very  productive,  largely  grown  in  Vaca- 
ville  and  other  early  regions. 

Long  Yellow  Six  Weeks,  pods  long,  early,  very  productive, 
excellent  quality;  popular  in  southern  California. 

Golden  Wax,  early,  strong  grower,  long  pods,  very  brittle  and 
stringless,  popular  in  the  Sacramento  valley,  coast  valleys  and 
southern  California,  where  it  is  commended  as  most  likely  to  come 
through  from  late  planting. 

Canadian  Wonder,  long,  straight  pods,  not  stringless,  but  ac- 
ceptable; seed  dark  red.  Especially  hardy  and  adapted  to  winter 
growth  through  light  frosts.  Good  for  early  and  late  planting  and 
profitable ;  maturing  during  long  shipping  season. 

Ventura  Wonder  Wax.  A  California  variety;  very  stocky 
growth  and  prolific ;  pods  long,  flat,  yellow ;  beans  white. 

Davis  White  Wax,  broad  pods,  clear  light  yellow,  productive, 
tender  and  delicate  flavor. 

Wardell's  Kidney  Wax,  long,  flat  and  showy  tender  pods, 
strong  grower,  prolific.  Beans  shapely,  pure  white  with  purple  eye ; 
little  later  than  Golden  Wax. 

Prolific  Black  Wax,  long  and  large  pods,  golden  color,  very 
productive,  bearing  early  and  through  a  long  season. 

Burpee's  Bush  Lima,  reported  by  California  growers  as  the  best 
of  the  dwarf  Limas. 

Broad  Beans. — These  beans  are  related  to  the  so-called  horse 
bean,  but  by  breeding  have  lost  much  of  the  strong  flavor  of  the 
horse  bean,  and  have  so  increased  in  size  of  the  seed  that  they  are 
several  times  larger  than  the  horse  bean.  In  Europe  they  are  es- 
teemed as  a  highly  nutritious  and  palatable  vegetable.  The  seeds 
only  are  eaten  and  are  prepared  for  table  in  much  the  same  manner 
as  Lima  beans.  As  Lima  beans  are  more  delicate  in  flavor  and 
nearly  always  available  in  California  markets  there  is  less  chance 
for  broad  beans  than  elsewhere,  and  yet  the  fact  that  they  are  more 
easily  grown  gives  them  claim  to  attention.  The  plants  are  pro- 
ductive and  will  flourish  in  almost  any  locality.  The  seed  should  be 
planted  about  three  inches  deep  in  double  rows,  eight  inches  be- 
tween the  rows  forming  the  double  line,  four  inches  between  the 
plants  in  the  rows,  and  three  feet  between  the  double  rows.  The 
early  formation  of  seed  can  be  hastened  by  removing  the  terminal 
bud  of  the  plants  when  they  have  reached  the  height  of  between 
four  and  five  feet,  and  have  produced  enough  flowers  to  insure  a 


WAYS  WITH  ^CLIMBING  BEANS  147 

good  crop  of  pods.  The  Green  Windsor  is  the  best  known  broad 
bean. 

Climbing  Beans. — Pole  beans  are  usually  more  susceptible  to 
heat  and  drought  than  the  better  bush  varieties,  and  they  are  dis- 
appointing in  other  ways.  Near  the  coast,  however,  they  may  be 
grown  and  trained  in  any  way  the  grower  pleases,  from  a  six-foot 
staff  to  a  whole  wigwam  of  poles  and  strings.  In  the  catalogues  of 
California  seedsmen  many  good  varieties  for  amateur  trial  are  de- 
scribed. The  best  climbing  bean  for  most  California  situations  is 
the  Kentucky  Wonder,  or  Old  Homestead,  which  bears  a  mass  of 
pods  when  grown  to  a  six-foot  stake.  It  is  quite  hardy  and  can 
be  safely  planted  a  week  or  more  before  many  other  varieties.  It 
is  a  medium  early  bean  and  takes  very  readily  to  the  poles ;  wonder- 
fully prolific,  the  vines  being  actually  loaded  from  top  to  bottom 
with  pods  from  six  to  nine  inches  in  length;  as  string  beans,  the 
pods  are  nearly  round,  tender  and  very  solid.  The  White-seeded 
Kentucky  Wonder  has  recently  become  popular  with  market  garden- 
ers because  its  pod-color  is  very  attractive  and  it  is  said  to  be  more 
resistant  of  mildew.  The  Gray-seeded  Wonder  is  also  esteemed. 
The  Case  Knife  and  the  Asparagus  or  Yard  Long  are  also  excellent 
climbing  beans ;  the  latter  especially  as  a  string  bean. 

Trellising  Beans. — Instead  of  unsightly  crooked  poles,  subject 
to  being  blown  down  and  always  to  be  set  up  in  the  spring  and 
stacked  in  the  fall,  always  to  be  renewed  about  every  four  years, 
set  six-foot  posts  about  a  rod  apart  through  the  beanfield  and  string 
a  wire  over  the  tops  of  them  above  the  rows  of  beans.  The  end 
posts  are  braced.  A  cotton  string  is  hung  from  the  wire  to  the 
ground  at  each  hill  of  beans,  15  inches  apart.  The  strings  support 
the  vines  till  they  reach  the  wires  where  they  make  a  neat  hedge 
effect  with  just  room  between  the  rows  for  pickers. 

Perennial  Beans. — It  is  not  unusual  for  the  California  gardener 
to  find  when  he  is  digging  over  his  bean  ground  in  the  spring  that 
the  old  roots  of  the  preceding  crop  are  not  dead  but  are  making 
new  sprouts.  One  grower  in  Alameda  who  had  this  experience 
was  adventurous  enough  to  save  these  roots  and  got  a  second  year's 
crop  from  them.  Afterward  he  transplanted  such  roots,  mulched 
them  in  the  winter  and  finally  had  bean  plants  two,  three  and  four 
years  old,  bearing  profusely  and  making  from  two  to  four  vines 
from  each  root,  growing  twelve  feet  high,  and  yielding  heavily. 
The  crowns  of  such  roots  are  often  about  two  inches  in  diameter. 
These  beans  are  usually  of  the  scarlet  runner  class,  though  some  of 
the  white  climbing  forms  have  perennial  roots.  In  an  amateur's 
garden  they  are  very  interesting  and  useful  in  places  where  frosts 
are  over  before  heat  enough  comes  to  start  the  top  growth  from 
the  perennial  roots. 

Transplanted  Beans. — Beans  may  be  easily  grown  early  in 
moist  sand  in  a  protected  place  and  set  out  when  several  inches 
high  when  the  soil  and  air  are  fit  to  receive  them.  The  best  way  to 


148  CALIFORNIA   VEGETABLES 

get  a  good  start  in  a  family  garden  is  the  method  of  Mr.  Adams, 
described  in  Chapter  XI,  by  which  a  whole  hill  is  moved  from 
under  cover  to  open  ground  at  one  operation. 

Growing  Beans  in  the  Irrigated  Garden. — Beans  may  be  irri- 
gated in  any  of  the  ways  described  for  garden  practice,  according 
to  the  character  of  the  soil.  They  will  stand  flooding  of  the  ground, 
if  it  is  done  at  sundown.  They  will  also  grow  well  on  the  ridge 
systems,  either  with  water  above  or  below,  according  to  the  soil. 
Shallow  planting  should  be  done  when  the  ground  is  to  be  kept 
moist  by  irrigation. 


CHAPTER    XV. 
THE  BEET. 

THE  BEET. — Beta  vulgaris. 

French,  betterave;  German,  runkelrube;  Dutch  and  Flemish,  betwortel; 
Danish,  rodbede;  Italian,  barbabietola ;  Spanish,  remolacha;  Portuguese, 
betarava. 

LEAF-BEET  OR  Swiss  CHARD. — Idem. 

French,  poiree,  German,  beisskohl ;  Dutch  and  Flemish,  snij  beet ;  Danish, 
blad  bede ;  Italian,  bieta ;  Spanish,  bleda ;  Portuguese,  a  celga. 

The  beet  as  a  garden  vegetable  is  taken  from  the  ground  every 
day  in  the  year  in  California.  It  can  be  sown  at  almost  any  time, 
and  at  all  stages  of  its  growth  is  uninjured  by  any  temperature 
which  is  experienced  in  California  valleys.  Moisture  conditions  do, 
however,  affect  its  growth.  It  is  unwise  to  sow  the  seed  in  cold, 
wet  ground,  but  if  the  seedling  has  taken  hold  it  can  endure  ex- 
tremes of  saturation  or  drought  for  a  long  period,  and  it  is  not 
injured  for  any  purpose  by  standing  where  it  has  grown  for  a  con- 
siderable time  after  it  has  reached  its  first  maturity.  The  beet  is 
counted,  however,  rather  a  coarse  vegetable,  and  would  be  con- 
signed to  rather  a  lowly  place  did  not  its  present  achievements  and 
its  greater  promise  as  a  source  of  sugar  give  it  commanding  im- 
portance. Though  our  people  are  somewhat  chary  about  putting 
the  boiled  beet-root  in  their  table  china,  they  do  not  hesitate  to 
install  in  cut  glass  or  silver  bowls  the  solid  extract  of  beet-root  in 
the  form  of  sugar  cubes  or  granules.  The  industrial  importance 
of  the  beet  includes  also  its  value  and  availability  as  an  auxiliary 
cattle  food,  and  it  is  all  the  more  esteemed  for  that  purpose  because 
in  our  climate  it  needs  no  root-cellar  or  even  earth-covering,  but  is 
pulled  all  days  of  the  year,  fresh  and  succulent,  from  the  site  in 
which  the  seed  was  cast  months  before. 

THE  GARDEN   BEET. 

Though,  as  stated,  the  beet  is  hardy  under  all  our  conditions, 
it  needs  for  the  proper  germination  of  its  seed  moist,  warm  ground, 
and  it  makes  rapid  and  tender  growth  with  the  same  soil  conditions. 
In  cold,  wet  soil  or  in  hot,  dry  land,  it  will  grow  slowly  and  will 
be  tough  and  of  inferior  flavor.  Though  it  is  true  that  beets  will 
endure  much  drought,  growing  slowly  and  rooting  deeply  on  land 
where  grain  and  hay  would  fail  and  subsequently,  with  the  coming 
of  the  fall  rains,  assume  more  active  growth  and  reach  large  size 
for  the  winter  feeding  of  stock,  it  is  not  in  that  way  that  tender 
and  sound-flavored  table  beets  can  be  produced.  They  should  make 
rapid  growth  from  start  to  finish,  and  then  they  may  remain  in 

[149] 


150  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

their  places  for  some  time  without  notable  loss  of  quality,  unless 
the  ground  is  heavy,  becomes  saturated  and  retains  water.  In  fact, 
some  growers  on  well-cultivated  upland  loams  claim  that  the  beets 
improve  in  the  soil  and  are  sweetest  and  tenderest  just  before 
sending  up  their  seed  stalks.  In  localities  with  excessive  rains,  it 
is  often  desirable  to  gather  beets  and  pack  them  away  in  dry  sand, 
but  in  most  places  open  air  winter  conditions  do  not  make  this  neces- 
sary. On  the  other  hand,  as  the  seed  may  be  almost  continuously 
planted  if  moisture  conditions  are  arranged,  small  planting  for 
several  successions  should  be  the  rule  in  the  family  or  sale  garden, 
if  long  use  from  one  planting  shows  deterioration. 

Garden  Culture. — Beets  may  be  grown  in  the  hand-hoed  gar- 
den in  rows  twelve  inches  apart,  or  even  nearer  than  that  if  space 
is  precious,  but  rows  for  horse  work  should  be  eighteen  inches  or 
two  feet,  as  may  be  necessary  to  insure  that  the  distance  chosen 
shall  bring  the  rows  of  upright  growers  uniform  distances  apart 
for  ease  of  cultivation  with  implements  that  cover  several  rows  at 
one  passage.  The  small  varieties  popular  in  this  state  do  not  need 
that  distance,  but  all  narrow  spacing  is  grievous  in  the  use  of 
horse  tools. 

The  soil  for  beets  should  be  well  worked  to  allow  natural  pen- 
etration, for  the  beet  has  a  taproot  of  great  importance  in  its  de- 
velopment. The  seed  may  be  soaked  before  planting  if  the  ground 
is  inclined  to  be  dry,  and  should  be  covered  from  three-quarters 
of  an  inch  to  two  inches,  according  as  the  soil  is  heavy  and  moist 
or  light  and  dry.  In  late  planting  the  seed  must  go  down  to  moist- 
ure, and  there  is  then  little  danger  of  rain  compacting  the  cover- 
ing. Planting  may  be  done  any  time  when  the  soil  is  moist  and 
warm,  but  never  when  it  is  cold  or  wet.  Seed  may  be  spaced  an 
inch  in  the  drill  approximately,  but  while  still  small  the  plants 
should  be  thinned  to  six  or  eight  inches.  The  sooner  this  is  done 
after  the  plants  have  reached  a  height  of  three  or  four  inches  the 
better.  It  is  quite  a  common  practice  to  allow  the  rows  to  grow 
thickly  until  the  thinnings  are  large  enough  for  greens.  The  prac- 
tice injures  the  surviving  beets,  for  they  never  reach  quite  the  de- 
velopment they  would  if  they  had  never  been  crowded,  but  with 
some  the  gain  of  the  greens  is  a  compensation. 

Varieties. — The  garden  beets  popular  in  California  for  table 
use  are  all  the  round  or  flat  shapes,  and  all  of  red  color. 

Detroit  Dark  Red,  globular,  rich  red  flesh;  tops  small  and 
green. 

The  Eclipse,  an  old  favorite,  is  still  of  wide  popularity.  It  is 
early  and  of  good  quality,  and  symmetrical,  round  form.  Said  to 
be  better  than  others  for  late  planting. 

Crimson  Globe,  medium  size,  globular,  smooth;  small  taproot 
and  abundant  foliage,  protecting  root  crown. 

The  Extra  Early  Egyptian  is  of  flat,  turnip  shape,  very  deep 
color,  early,  tender  and  fine. 


THE  SWISS  CHARD  151 

Morse's  Improved  Blood  Turnip,  especially  selected  for  style 
and  quality,  deep  red,  green  tops. 

A.  &  M.  Bassano,  commanded  for  tenderness  and  shapeliness 
and  flavor.  Popular  with  market  gardeners. 

Crosby's  Egyptian,  of  flatter  form  than  Early  Egyptian,  good 
for  early  use,  but  maintains  tenderness  well  as  it  gets  larger  size, 
very  bright  clear  red  flesh. 

Edmunds'  Blood  Turnip  is  another  favorite  market  variety, 
round  and  smooth,  deep  color  and  good  quality. 

Early  Blood  Turnip  is  also  largely  grown.  It  is  round,  good 
form  and  quality. 

Long  Smooth  Blood  is  an  old  standard  variety  for  those  who 
like  beets  for  slicing.  It  roots  deeply  and  stands  drought  well. 

THE   LEAF-BEET    OR    SWISS    CHARD. 

This  plant  is  a  beet  grown  for  its  foliage  and  not  for  its  root, 
which  is  small  and  branching.  Its  cultivation  is,  however,  exactly 
like  that  of  the  beet  root,  except  that  its  rooting  habit  allows  of 
shallow  tillage,  but  it  enjoys  good  conditions  in  the  soil  and  mani- 
fests its  delight  by  grander  foliage,  which  is  very  desirable  and  is 
used  as  spinach  is.  Chard  is  not  largely  grown  in  California  be- 
cause conditions  are  so  favorable  for  continual  supplies  of  spinach, 
which  is  preferred,  and  yet  many  find  it  desirable.  It  is  also  grown 
for  green  feed  for  poultry  in  the  autumn  from  planting  as  late 
as  July. 

THE   SUGAR   BEET   IN    CALIFORNIA. 

All  that  has  been  said  in  preceding  chapters  on  California 
climates  and  soils  has  direct  reference  to  the  exceptional  adaptation 
of  the  state  to  the  growth  of  the  sugar  beet  and  the  manufacture 
of  beet  sugar.  The  vast  area  of  rich,  deep,  loamy  and  easily- 
worked  soils,  which  afford  the  plant  deep  rooting,  free  expansion 
and  large  yield  of  rich  beets;  the  equable  climate,  which  insures 
ample  sun-action,  freedom  from  low  temperature,  and  an  almost 
continuous  growing  season  through  the  year  for  a  hardy  plant  like 
the  beet,  and  thus  provides  for  sugar  factories  a  maximum  working 
season  without  protection  of  the  rich,  raw  material  from  freezing — 
these  are  local  advantages  for  beet  growing  and  sugar  making  the 
importance  of  which  it  is  difficult  to  overestimate.  There  are  also 
many  incidental  advantages  and  benefits  in  ground  which  does  not 
freeze  and  in  factories  where  the  absence  of  freezing  temperature 
makes  it  unnecessary  to  build  for  protection  of  men,  materials  and 
machinery,  except  from  heat  and  rain. 

Extent  of  the  Industry. — Eleven  beet-sugar  factories  in  Cali- 
fornia produced,  in  1916,  243,800  tons  of  sugar,  from  144,200  acres 
of  beets.  Large  as  this  quantity  is,  it  is  small  compared  with  the 
possible  production  in  California,  as  there  are  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  acres  perfectly  adapted  to  the  raising  of  sugar  beets. 


152  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Allowing  for  proper  rotation  of  crops,  about  two  hundred  thou- 
sand acres  would  be  available  each  year — capable  of  producing  two 
million  five  hundred  thousand  tons  of  beets  and  three  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  tons  of  sugar. 

In  1917  California  has  fifteen  factories  in  operation  or  nearing 
completion.  They  are  located  in  counties  as  given  below: 

Alameda 1  San  Bernardino 1 

Glenn    1  San  Joaquin  2 

Kings    1  Santa  Barbara 1 

Monterey  1  Tulare    1 

Orange  5  Ventura   1 

According  to  Professor  R.  L.  Adams:  "Some  idea  of  the  rapid 
development  and  resultant  importance  of  the  beet  industry  to  the 
state  may  be  gleaned  from  the  fact  that  in  the  relatively  short 
period  of  ten  years  the  acreage  has  increased  from  approximately 
60,000  acres  in  1906  to  an  estimated  acreage  of  over  144,000  in 
1916.  By  three-year  averages  the  acreage  has  risen  from  an  aver- 
age annual  acreage  for  the  years  1907-09  of  64,227  acres  to  98,960 
acres  for  1910-12,  and  to  118,600  acres  for  1913-15.  Indications 
point  to  an  increasingly  larger  area  for  the  near  future."  * 

Comparative  statistics  show  that  the  proportion  of  saccharine 
is  greater  in  the  beets  grown  here  than  in  any  other  locality,  whether 
in  Europe  or  America.  The  plant  itself  becomes  a  more  active 
worker  and  extracts  more  sugar  from  California  soil  and  sunshine 
than  it  does  elsewhere. 

Situations  and  Soils. — Of  the  fifteen  factories  cited  ten  are  in 
the  coast  valley  region  south  of  San  Francisco,  one  in  the  Sacra- 
mento valley,  four  are  in  the  San  Joaquin  valley  and  the  large  area 
noted  as  adapted  to  sugar-beet  production  is  obtained  by  computa- 
tion of  our  valley  acreage.  For  the  most  economical  production  of 
uniformly  good  beets,  fairly  level  fields  are  of  great  advantage. 
To  get  the  largest  profits  there  must  be  the  use  of  the  most  ca- 
pacious planting,  cultivating  and  harvesting  appliances,  and  all  these 
are  best  suited  to  level  or  gently  sloping  lands.  As  most  of  these 
lands,  except  in  coast  valleys,  lie  in  regions  of  moderate  rainfall 
there  is  seldom  the  need  of  underdrainage,  but  the  problem  is 
rather  one  of  moisture  conservation,  and  that  is  in  most  cases 
easily  accomplished  by  cultivation,  to  the  extent  required  by  the 
beet  which  roots  deeply  and  draws  its  moisture  from  a  large  soil 
volume.  Where  it  may  be  necessary  to  concentrate  the  rainfall  of 
two  seasons  for  one  crop,  the  method  of  a  constantly  stirred  sum- 
mer fallow,  which  insures  a  crop  of  grain  in  spite  of  low  rainfall, 
will  do  the  same  for  a  crop  of  beets,  providing  the  relatively  deeper 
cultivation  required  by  the  beet  is  given. 

Though  nearly  all  fertile  soils  will  grow  good  sugar  beets  if 
well  tilled  for  moisture  retention  and  for  root  penetration  and  ex- 

*Circular  165,  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  University  of  California,  Berkeley,  on 
"Fundamentals  of  Sugar  Beet  Culture  Under  California  Conditions." 


BEET   SUGAR,  IN    CALIFORNIA  153 

pansion,  a  rich,  mellow  loam,  deeply  worked  and  with  medium  moist- 
ure conditions,  is  the  ideal  for  the  purpose.  Sandy  soil,  which  dry 
out  in  spite  of  cultivation,  are  available  for  beet  growing  by  care- 
ful irrigation.  Heavy,  wet  soils  may  be  put  into  condition  by  un- 
derdrainage  and  cultivation,  but  there  are  such  vast  areas  of  soils 
which  will  suit  the  beet  without  either  irrigation  or  drainage,  it  is 
probable  that  improvements  in  these  lines  will  be  left  for  the  future. 

Tillage  for  Beets. — Land  for  beets  should  be  taken  in  hand 
early.  If  it  has  not  been  summer-fallowed  the  previous  summer, 
it  may  receive  a  shallow  plowing  early  in  the  fall,  being  left  rough 
to  receive  the  rainfall.  As  soon  as  the  heaviest  and  coldest  rains 
of  the  season  are  over  in  the  locality  a  deep  plowing  should  be 
given,  so  as  to  secure  a  seed  bed  of  ten  or  twelve  inches  depth  of 
stirred  soil.  This  practice  is  best  for  coast  valleys,  where  spring 
rains  after  the  plowing  are  likely  to  be  sufficient  to  restore  to  the 
soil  a  proper  degree  of  compactness.  In  light,  open  soils,  with 
scant  spring  rains,  the  first  plowing  should  be  deep  and  the  second 
shallow  for  fear  of  leaving  the  lower  strata  too  open.  It  is  often 
good  practice  to  rely  upon  one  good  plowing  early  in  the  winter, 
followed  by  the  use  of  the  chisel  cultivator,  harrow  and  clod- 
crusher,  to  bring  the  surface  into  fine  mellow  condition  to  receive 
the  seed.  Modification  of  methods  must  be  made  according  to  local 
soil  and  rainfall,  but  the  condition  to  be  aimed  at  is  deep  stirring, 
lower  strata,  moist  but  not  wet,  surface  fine  and  moisture  near  it, 
but  not  disposed  to  bake  or  crust  with  rains,  which  may  follow 
sowing. 

Rotation. — Beets  make  a  strong  draft  on  some  components  of 
the  soil,  and  it  is  a  common  experience  that  they  should  not  be 
grown  year  after  year  for  a  long  period,  but  should  take  their  place 
in  a  rotation,  in  the  course  of  which  one  or  two  crops  of  beets 
should  be  followed  by  a  crop  of  grain  or  potatoes,  and  that,  if  pos- 
sible, by  a  leguminous  plant  like  beans,  alfalfa  or  an  annual  legume 
like  burr  clover  used  for  pasturage,  and  then  to  beets  again.  Beets 
improve  soil  for  grain,  because  of  the  deep  running  of  the  root,  and 
because  beet  culture  is  not  profitable  without  deep  plowing  and  con- 
tinuous summer  cultivation.  This  deepens  and  cleans  the  land  to 
the  manifest  advantage  of  the  grain  crop,  but  still  the  beet  reduces 
the  plant  food  in  the  soil  and  some  change  of  crop  should  be  made 
with  reference  to  its  restoration,  and  this  is  the  reason  for  the  legu- 
minous plant  and  pasturage  if  possible. 

Planting. — Sugar  beets  are  grown  in  drills  about  eighteen  to 
twenty  inches  apart.  Seeding  is  done  with  machines.  Covering 
should  be  as  shallow  as  will  bring  the  seed  into  soil,  which  will 
remain  moist;  depth  depends  upon  earliness  of  sowing,  character 
of  soil,  as  already  explained  in  other  connections.  Sometimes  it  is 
desirable  to  cover  as  deeply  as  two  inches ;  sometimes,  and  usually, 
perhaps,  one  inch  or  a  little  less.  In  late  sowings,  when  the  sur- 
face has  become  quite  dry,  an  attachment  to  the  drill  which  pushes 


1 54  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

aside  part  of  the  dry  surface  and  brings  the  seed  into  moist  soil 
without  running  too  deep,  has  been  found  valuable.  The  greatest 
care  should  be  taken  to  have  the  rows  straight.  Possibly  most  beets 
are  grown  in  crooked  rows,  as  it  has  long  been  said  of  corn,  but 
the  whole  after  course  of  the  field  is  improved  by  running  the  drill 
straight.  It  is  undesirable  to  have  a  rain  just  after  planting,  unless 
the  land  is  very  light  and  dry.  If  crust  forms  it  must  be  broken  by 
light  harrowing  or  rolling. 

The  time  of  planting  depends  upon  the  local  climate  and  the 
character  and  condition  of  the  soil.  With  reference  to  local  climates 
Professor  Adams  says : 

The  commercial  time  of  planting  in  California  covers  a  period  from 
October  1  until  June  1,  local  conditions  largely  influencing  the  time  when  the 
seed  is  sown.  In  general,  as  near  as  a  rule  can  be  given,  fall  planting — 
October,  November  and  December — is  more  common  in  the  southern  portion 
of  the  state ;  early  spring  planting — last  of  January  and  February — in  the  Sac- 
ramento and  San  Joaquin  valleys;  and  later  spring  planting — February  1  to 
June  1 — in  the  coast  sections,  such  as  Monterey  and  Santa  Barbara  counties. 
Local  conditions  will  determine  the  best  time  to  sow,  but  as  a  general  recom- 
mendation, as  early  planting  as  is  possible  is  to  be  strongly  recommended. 
Although  early  planting  carries  with  it  attendant  difficulties  of  soil  prepara- 
tion, weed  destruction,  thinning  and  hoeing,  danger  of  root  rot  and  crusting, 
the  increased  tonnage  of  beets  obtained  fully  warrants  early  planting,  even 
though  it  becomes  necessary  to  replant  occasionally.  In  the  interior  valleys 
where  warm  weather  begins  at  an  early  date,  early  planting  is  absolutely 
essential  to  insure  well-established  growth  before  the  heat  and  dryness  of  late 
spring  and  summer  descend  upon  the  fields. 

In  certain  sections,  especially  in  the  Sacramento  Valley  and  some  of  the 
central  coast  sections,  it  is  possible  to  plant  beets  so  early  that  a  considerable 
percentage  will  throw  up  seed-stalks.  If  this  seed  formation  progresses  too 
far,  the  sugar  content  of  the  crop  is  reduced  and  the  beets  become  too  woody 
for  profitable  working.  "Early  planting,"  therefore,  must  be  construed  as 
meaning  the  planting  of  the  seed  as  early  as  possible,  while  guarding  against 
planting  so  early  that  seed  production  replaces  satisfactory  maturing. 

Cultivation. — Weeds  should  never  be  allowed  to  get  the  start 
of  the  young  beets ;  nor  should  the  soil  be  allowed  to  lock  them  in 
a  hard  surface.  For  this  reason  cultivation  should  begin  as  soon 
as  the  rows  can  be  seen.  Very  effective  cultivators,  or  horse-hoes, 
have  been  designed  by  California  mechanics,  which  make  it  possible 
to  work  two  or  four  rows  at  once  if  the  beets  are  in  straight  equi- 
distant rows.  This  cultivation,  beginning  thus  early,  must  be  con- 
tinued at  frequent  intervals,  for  the  reasons  already  fully  given  in 
the  chapter  on  cultivation.  Cultivation  is  absolutely  essential  to  a 
good  beet;  not  only  must  moisture  be  conserved,  but  the  lower 
strata  must  be  kept  reasonably  loose  so  that  the  soil  may  be  dis- 
placed by  the  expanding  beet-root.  This  is  done  not  by  deep  sum- 
mer cultivation,  but  by  keeping  a  good  surface  mulch  to  prevent 
evaporation,  and  the  lower  soil  will  then  keep  itself  in  good  condi- 
tion. All  flattened,  or  knotty,  or  gnarly  beets  show  that  there  has 
been  slackness,  either  in  proper  depth,  in  preparation  of  the  ground, 
or  in  lack  of  cultivation  afterward,  permitting  deep  drying  out. 


GROWING  SUGAR  BEETS  155 

Beets  which  show  signs  of  distress  will  be  discarded  or  discounted 
at  the  factory.  The  beet  must  be  symmetrical,  smooth  and  fine — 
all  of  which  are  signs  of  thrift  in  a  beet  as  they  are  in  a  well-bred 
animal. 

Thinning. — Excellence  in  beets  is  also  dependent  upon  each 
having  adequate  soil-room  and  plant  food.  It  is  impossible  to  get 
proper  spacing  by  any  scheme  of  seed  dropping.  It  is  necessary  to 
sow  too  thickly  in  order  to  get  a  uniform  stand ;  the  spacing  of  the 
beets  must  be  done  afterward.  By  using  a  narrow  hoe  crosswise 
to  the  rows,  the  plants  can  be  quickly  thinned  to  clumps  or  groups, 
from  which  all  but  the  strongest  plant  are  pulled  by  hand.  Thin- 
ning should  be  begun  when  the  seedlings  are  small — say  from  two 
to  four  leaves.  It  is  easier  to  do  it  well  at  this  stage,  and  it  is 
vastly  better  for  the  beets  which  are  to  stand,  for  it  does  not  dis- 
place the  soil  nor  disturb  their  rooting,  as  when  it  is  done  too  late. 
Beets  should  stand  eight  to  ten  inches  apart  in  the  row,  according 
to  the  soil.  Where  the  soil  is  very  rich  and  the  beets  likely  to  over- 
grow the  two-pound  average,  which  is  most  acceptable  to  the  fac- 
tory, they  should  be  allowed  to  stand  nearer  in  the  row.  After 
thinning,  the  surface  cultivation  must  proceed  for  weed  cutting  and 
surface  loosening  until  the  beet  leaves  cover  the  ground.  The  field 
is  then  laid  by  until  harvesting. 

Irrigation. — Irrigation  is  the  surety  of  proper  development  of 
the  beet,  as  of  other  plants,  though  a  large  part  of  the  California 
product  comes  through  by  rainfall.  The  grower  must  follow  the 
discussion  of  this  subject  in  special  publications  and  become  wise 
also  by  experience  and  observation  under  his  own  local  conditions. 
It  is  becoming  more  and  more  clearly  demonstrated  that  the  beet 
should  be  brought  to  the  thinning  stage  by  rainfall  or  by  irrigation 
before  planting,  if  possible ;  also  that  water  should  be  handled  pref- 
erably in  furrows  to  avoid  the  ill  effects  upon  the  soil  and  the  plant 
by  surface  flooding.  Irrigation  should  be  stopped  a  month  or  so 
before  harvesting  to  favor  maturity  and  development  of  a  good 
sugar  content. 

Harvesting — As  the  outer  leaves  of  the  beet  turn  yellow  and 
drop  to  the  ground,  maturity  arrives.  It  is  usual  for  the  factory 
to  notify  the  grower  when  his  crop  is  ready.  The  beet  can  stand 
long  in  the  soil  without  losing  sugar  percentage,  but  the  factory 
cannot  use  all  the  beets  at  the  moment  of  their  readiness,  and,  there- 
fore, some  growers  have  to  wait  for  delivery  until  the  opening  of 
the  rainy  season,  and  that  is  not  pleasant  or  profitable.  It  is  desir- 
able, therefore,  that  seeding  should  be  done  at  different  times,  as 
each  kind  of  land  in  the  locality  comes  into  condition,  and  thus  pro- 
long both  the  harvesting  season  and  the  factory  season.  On  this 
point  local  advice  should  be  taken  from  the  contracting  purchaser. 

Beet  harvesting  is  now  done  cheaply  by  means  of  implements 
and  machines  of  California  design  and  construction,  which  either 
loosen  or  completely  dislodge  the  beet.  Topping,  or  removing  the 


156  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

leaves  and  all  the  green  part  of  the  root  grown,  is  done  with  knives, 
though  inventors  are  perhaps  making  some  promising  progress  in 
machines  for  this  work. 

Beet  tops  are  good  stock  feed  if  not  allowed  to  become  moldy 
and  are  sold  at  $0.50  to  $4  per  acre,  as  determined  by  the  factory 
weight  of  the  beets  delivered.  But  wherever  possible  the  beets  should 
be  fed  on  the  land  and  the  manure  returned  to  the  soil,  or  fed  on 
a  feed-lot  if  the  soil  is  liable  to  be  injured  by  tramping  during  the 
rainy  season. 

Yield. — Very  large  yields  of  sugar  beets  have  been  reported 
with  perfect  truth,  and  larger  sugar  percentages  have  been  attained 
in  California  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world,  but  average  state- 
ments are  a  better  guide  than  extremes.  The  statistics  gathered  by 
the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  show  that  the  eleven  factories 
operating  in  1916  worked  up  1,439,000  tons  of  beets  which  were 
harvested  from  144,200  acres  of  land.  The  price  for  the  beets  was, 
on  the  average,  $6.44  per  ton,  and  the  average  yield  was  10  tons 
per  acre.  The  average  gross  return  to  the  grower  was,  therefore, 
$64.40  per  acre.  The  cost  of  production  is  variously  estimated  at 
from  $40  to  $50  per  acre,  leaving  a  profit  of  from  $14  to  $24  per 
acre.  Of  course,  some  make  much  more  than  the  average.  There 
is  quite  as  large  an  opening  for  good  farming  in  beet  growing  as 
in  any  other  crop,  and  the  beet  seems  to  know  as  clearly  when  it  is 
well  off  and  gathers  sweets  like  a  bee. 

Beet  Pulp  for  Stock  Feed. — The  use  of  beet  pulp  for  stock  feed- 
ing has  increased  rapidly  during  the  last  few  years,  and  promises 
to  be  as  popular  here  as  in  Europe.  It  is  fed  fresh  and  is  put  down 
in  silos.  It  is  very  cheaply  siloed,  because  it  packs  down  readily 
and  it  seals  itself  up  from  contact  with  the  air  by  the  formation  of 
a  surface  crust.  The  pulp  is  also  being  commercially  dried  and  sold 
in  large  quantities  to  stock-feeders.  There  are,  however,  many 
economic  questions  concerning  the  cost  of  the  pulp,  either  as  it 
comes  from  the  factory,  or  dried,  or  as  silage  which  are  not  yet 
fully  determined,  and  which  it  needs  systematic  experimentation  to 
demonstrate. 

Varieties. — Thus  far  California  has  relied  chiefly  upon  Euro- 
pean beet  seed.  Recently  a  company  in  Idaho  has  brought  into 
practice  the  exact  methods  of  testing  and  selecting  the  "mother 
beets"  for  seed  production  which  are  practiced  in  France  and  Ger- 
many. By  this  means  the  sugar-contents  have  been  increased  and 
shape,  thrift  and  other  characters  of  the  beet  have  been  advanced. 
It  is  probable  that  California  will  in  due  time  develop  local  seed 
supplies  of  the  highest  quality,  but  efforts  in  that  direction  in  this 
state  have  not  yet  succeeded  in  reaching  considerable  production. 

Of  the  varieties  chiefly  used  at  the  present  time  by  the  Cali- 
fornia sugar  factories  the  best  information  is  to  be  had  from  the 
managers  who  furnish  to  growers  the  seed  which  in  their  experi- 


GROWING  BEETS  FOR  STOCK  157 

ence  yields  the  best  results,  and  their  contracts  are  conditioned  upon 
the  use  of  the  seed  they  furnish. 

BEETS  AS  FOOD  FOR  STOCK. 

All  that  has  been  said  about  the  fitness  of  California  soils  and 
climates  to  the  growth  of  the  sugar  beet  is  also  applicable  to  the 
growth  of  beets  for  stock  food.  Early  plantings  of  beets  furnish 
succulent  food  when  the  pastures  yield  but  "dry  feed,"  which  is  the 
local  name  for  grasses  and  clovers  which  make  rich  hay  as  they 
stand  in  the  field.  Though  this  food  is  very  nutritious,  it  is  better 
fitted  for  fattening  purposes  than  for  maintaining  the  milk-flow, 
and  for  this  reason  it  should  be  supplemented  by  succulent  food. 
By  later  planting  of  beets  good  supplies  can  also  be  provided  for 
the  deficiency  of  pasture  growth  which  occurs  when  the  winter 
happens  to  be  colder  or  drier  than  usual.  Thus,  by  planting  from 
February  until  June,  or  even  later  on  moist  bottom  or  irrigated  land, 
the  stock  feeder  can  have  beets  for  his  animals  the  year  round. 

Stock  beets  are  also  useful  as  a  succulent  food  for  poultry. 
By  sowing  in  April  or  earlier,  if  local  soil  conditions  admit,  well- 
grown  beets  can  be  had  for  the  fowls  by  August,  when  it  is  well- 
nigh  impossible  for  them  to  find  any  wild  verdure.  They  will  help 
themselves  to  the  roots  just  as  they  come  from  the  field. 

Preparation  of  the  land  is  the  same  for  stock  beets  as  for 
sugar  beets.  The  plants  must  have  wider  spacing,  both  for  the  rows 
and  for  individual  plants,  according  to  the  size  of  the  variety  grown. 
The  long  red  mangel-wurzel,  which  frequently  reaches  a  weight  of 
seventy  pounds,  and  should  average  half  that  or  more,  needs  room. 
Three  feet  between  the  rows  and  two  feet  between  the  plants  in 
the  row  is  as  little  space  as  should  be  given. 

Growers  of  stock  beets  often  sprout  the  seed  before  planting, 
and  sow  by  hand,  from  five  to  eight  pounds  per  acre,  in  a  shallow 
furrow,  following  a  line  set  by  a  "marker,"  and  cover  with  a  culti- 
vator or  harrow,  finally  smoothing  with  a  plank  clod-crusher  or 
"rubber." 

Summer  cultivation  determines  the  character  of  the  crop  as  it 
does  with  sugar  beets,  and  the  best  cultivators  secure  almost  in- 
credible weights  of  beets  from  rich,  moist  soils.  The  crop  often 
reaches  twice  that  of  sugar  beets,  and  though  the  stock  beets  are 
inferior  in  nutritive  contents,  the  greater  crop  and  the  greater  ease 
with  which  large  beets,  growing  a  good  part  of  their  bulk  above- 
ground,  are  gathered  and  handled  are  held  to  compensate  for  their 
less  nutritive  substance. 

Varieties. — Of  the  many  cattle  beets  of  Europe  three  have 
gained  wide  popularity  in  California:  the  Long  Red  Mangel,  the 
Yellow  Globe  Mangel,  and  the  Golden  Tankard. 

Long  Red  Mangel. — This  variety  is  the  largest  and  produces 
the  heaviest  crops,  and  is  the  best  generally  preferred  by  dairymen 


158  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

and  for  hog  feed,  but  requires  a  deep,  strong  soil  to  do  well.  A 
rich,  sandy  loam,  a  heavy  black  adobe  or  a  yellow  clay,  will  pro- 
duce great  crops  of  Long  Red  Mangels. 

Yelloiv  Globe  Mangel. — This  is  medium  in  size,  rutabaga 
shaped,  more  solid  and  less  watery,  and  is  the  best  beet  for  a  light, 
shallow  soil.  All  root  crops,  as  stated  already,  require  a  deep, 
moist  soil,  and  the  richer  the  better.  But  Yellow  Globe  Mangels 
are  recommended  on  a  light  or  gravelly  soil,  but  in  such  case  a  lib- 
eral use  should  be  made  of  old  and  well-rotted  barn-yard  manure, 
well  worked  into  the  soil. 

Yellow  Tankard  Mangel. — This  is  also  called  "Golden  Tank- 
ard." It  is  one  of  the  most  famous  English  varieties.  It  is  very 
neat  and  symmetrical  in  form — cylindrical,  narrowing  abruptly  at 
both  ends.  It  has  yellow  flesh  throughout.  It  reaches  large  size, 
but  can  be  grown  more  thickly  than  the  Long  Red. 

These  Yellow  Mangels  have  gained  rapidly  in  popularity  dur- 
ing the  last  few  years :  first  in  southern  California  and  now  in  the 
north  as  well.  They  are  better  suited  for  calcareous  soils,  which  are 
very  prevalent  in  California,  and  they  endure  drought  better  than 
the  Long  Red. 


CHAPTER     XVI. 
THE  CABBAGE  FAMILY. 

COMMON  CABBAGE. — Brassica  oleracea  capitata. 
French,  chou  cabus,  chou  pomme ;  German,  kopfkohl,  kraut ;  Dutch,  slut- 
kool ;  Danish,  hoved  kaal ;  Italian,  cavolo  cappuccio ;  Spanish,  col  repollo ;  Por- 
tuguese, couve  repolho. 

SAVOY  CABBAGE. — Brassica  oleracea  biillata. 

French,  chou  de  Milan ;  German,  Savoyerkohl ;  Dutch,  savooikool ;  Italian, 
cavolo  de  Milano;  Spanish,  col  de  Milan;  Portuguese,  saboia. 
BRUSSELS  SPROUTS. — Idem. 

French,  chou  de  Bruxelles;  German,  Briisseler  sprossen-wirsing ;  Dutch, 
spruitkool ;  Danish,  rosenkaal ;  Italian,  cavolo  a  germoglio. 
CAULIFLOWER. — Brassica  oleracea  botrytis. 

French,  chou-fleur ;  German,  blumenkohl ;  Dutch,  bloemkool ;  Italian,  cavol- 
flore;  Spanish,  coliflor;  Portuguese,  couve-flor. 
BROCCOLI. — Idem. 

French,  choux  brocolis,  chou-fleur  d'hiver;  German,  spargelkohl;  Danish, 
asparges  kaal;  Italian,  cavol  broccolo;  Spanish,  broculi. 

BORECOLE  OR  KALE. — Brassica  oleracea  acephala. 
French,  choux  verts;   German,  winterkohl;   Dutch,  boerenkool;   Italian, 
cavolo  verde ;  Spanish,  coles  sin  cogollo. 
COLLARDS. — Idem. 

Jersey  Kale;  Thousand  Headed  Cabbage  or  Oregon  Kale;  also  Marrow 
Kale  (chou  moellier) — grown  for  livestock  and  poultry. 

Other  species  of  brassica,  grown  for  fleshy  stems  or  roots,  rather  than  for 
esculent  foliage,  will  be  classed  as  "turnips"  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

California  has  a  vast  capacity  as  a  supply  region  for  esculents 
of  the  cabbage  family.  The  climate  favors  production  and  ship- 
ment at  a  time  when  the  eastern  markets  have  only  stored  cabbage, 
and  California  cauliflower  is  harvested  in  splendid  size  and  quality 
all  through  the  winter  months,  so  that  the  crop  is  disposed  of  be- 
fore the  eastern  grower  can  trust  his  small  plants  to  the  open  air. 
Some  years  when  there  have  been  low  freight  rates,  or  a  partial 
failure  in  eastern  production,  there  have  been  very  large  shipments 
in  direct  competition  with  the  eastern  grown  cabbage,  in  the  early 
autumn,  and  money  has  been  made  in  selling  California  cabbage, 
not  as  an  early  vegetable,  but  at  prices  which  sauerkraut  factories 
were  willing  to  pay.  The  eastern  production  has,  however,  been 
more  intelligently  carried  on  during  recent  years,  and  California 
producers  have  less  opportunity  in  the  farther  east.  In  the  great 
central  region  of  the  country,  however,  California  vegetable  ship- 
pers find  a  large  market,  and  growing  is  done  on  a  considerable 
scale,  but  the  aggregate  is  only  a  small  fraction  of  what  the  state 
could  easily  produce. 

The  largest  cabbage  producing  regions  are  the  sandy  loam  up- 
lands bordering  San  Francisco  on  the  south,  the  lowlands  of  Santa 

[159] 


160  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Clara  county,  the  reclaimed  islands  of  the  Sacramento  and  San 
Joaquin  rivers,  and  the  valleys  of  southern  California,  both  on  the 
coast  and  in  the  interior.  The  last  named  are  the  largest  produc- 
ing districts  for  overland  shipment,  although  the  central  parts  of 
the  state  often  export  largely.  Southern  California  ships  usually 
about  1500  carloads  of  cabbage,  chiefly  from  March  to  June,  and 
1000  carloads  of  cauliflower,  chiefly  from  November  to  April. 

Cabbage  is  produced  both  in  large  areas  wholly  given  to  the 
plant  and  by  planting  between  young  fruit  trees,  both  in  rainfall 
and  irrigated  districts.  As  the  cabbage  is  very  largely  a  winter 
crop  in  California,  the  water  which  it  requires  comes  free  from  the 
clouds  or  at  low  rates  from  the  irrigating  ditches.  The  chief  objec- 
tion to  the  crop  is  the  great  fluctuation  in  value  from  year  to  year. 
It  is  hardly  worth  while  at  $15  per  ton,  and  very  profitable  at  $30 
to  $40  per  ton,  and  the  planting  is  large  or  small,  according  to  the 
preceding  year's  experience  in  selling,  and  this,  of  course,  largely 
influences  the  price  of  the  new  crop.  An  average  crop  of  cabbage 
would  be,  perhaps,  four  tons  to  the  acre  and  the  average  value  $20 
per  ton  or  $80  gross  value  per  acre.  The  cost  at  current  rates  for 
labor  would  be  about  $30  per  acre. 

The  cabbage  crop  is  chiefly  grown  for  winter  and  spring  gath- 
ering. Interior  southern  situations  produce  heads  ready  for  ship- 
ping as  early  as  February,  and  the  shipment  continues,  including 
the  later  coast  regions  in  southern  and  central  California,  until  April 
or  later.  Thus  California  is  able  to  reach  the  markets  at  the  East 
when  the  storage  houses  of  eastern  regions  are  emptied  of  cabbage 
and  the  sauerkraut  barrels  run  low  and  to  receive  whatever  high 
prices  may  be  available  at  that  time  of  the  year. 

California  cauliflower  is  chiefly  shipped  to  distant  markets  from 
November  to  February — the  length  of  the  season  being  determined 
by  the  character  of  the  rainy  season,  which  if  very  wet  may  put 
the  late  crop  out  of  shipping  condition;  also  by  the  supplies  avail- 
able from  Florida,  etc. 

Although  the  state  is  so  well  suited  to  produce  all  the  plants  of 
the  cabbage  family,  the  common  cabbage  is  the  only  one  which  is 
widely  grown  by  small  growers  for  home  supplies.  It  is  the  hardi- 
est of  the  group  under  neglect  or  drought,  it  is  true,  but  there  is 
not  so  much  difference  as  some  imagine.  The  cauliflower  has,  for 
instance,  the  reputation  of  being  hard  to  grow,  but  there  is  really 
no  difficulty  about  it  if  proper  effort  is  made,  as  will  be  described 
later. 

THE  CABBAGE. 

The  cabbage  can  be  grown  everywhere  in  California  by  select- 
ing that  season  of  the  year  which  furnishes  the  adequate  moisture 
and  moderate  temperature  which  best  suits  its  nature.  These  re- 
quirements adapt  it  well  to  winter  growth  generally  in  California 
except  in  the  frostiest  places,  and  give  the  plant  a  longer  season 
and  a  greater  attainment  in  weight  in  regions  of  rich  soils  open  to 


Univ.  of  Cal.  Experiment  Station 

Lettuce  plants  set  at  edge  of  moisture  after  running-in  water ;  also  fully 
headed  lettuce  right  to  gather. — Page  203. 


GROWING   CABBAGE  IN   CALIFORNIA  161 

coast  influences.  It  does  not  resent  fogs  and  cold  winds,  and  thrives 
directly  upon  the  coast  as  well  as  in  coast  valleys.  In  the  interior 
it  reaches  its  best  estate  on  bottom  lands,  but  will  succeed  on  plains 
and  uplands  with  enough  moisture  by  irrigation  to  supplement  the 
rainfall,  but  without  irrigation  it  is  often  disappointing  even  though 
it  be  started  early  enough.  Cabbage  is  sometimes  a  very  profitable 
winter  crop  in  young  orchards  in  southern  California. 

Soil. — The  cabbage  does  well  on  heavy  soil,  and  it  does  not 
object  to  alkali — if  it  is  not  too  strong.  It  delights  in  copious  treat- 
ment with  stable  manures.  For  quick  fall  growth,  for  early  win- 
ter maturity,  such  soil,  if  moist  enough  by  rainfall  or  irrigation, 
will  bring  it  along  rapidly  while  the  autumn  heat  is  ample.  For 
later  fall  planting  to  reach  early  spring  maturity,  a  warmer,  lighter, 
well-drained  soil  or  a  raised  bed  will  push  full  growth  in  a  month 
or  six  weeks  less  time  than  heavy  soil  in  a  rainy  region,  which  is 
likely  to  be  cold  and  water-soaked.  But  the  cabbage  sometimes 
repays  great  kindness  by  growth  to  bursting  or  cracking  of  the  head. 
Care  should  be  had  against  overgrowth  for  this  reason.  Cracking 
can  be  prevented  by  giving  heads  which  threaten  it  a  pull,  or  a 
cut  through  the  roots  with  a  spade,  so  as  to  lessen  its  riotous  living 
by  partial  arrest  of  its  supplies. 

Aside  from  consideration  of  rapid  development,  however,  it 
should  be  said  that  the  cabbage  will  stand  a  good  deal  of  winter 
water  and  will  even  go  through  a  period  of  saturated  soil  and 
standing  water,  making  good  heads  when  better  growing  conditions 
follow. 

The  Time  to  Plant. — These  points  on  soil  conditions  also  sug- 
gest different  times  of  planting  in  different  localities,  according  to 
what  may  be  reasonably  anticipated  in  the  way  of  heat  and  moist- 
ure. Even  in  the  same  locality  there  will  also  be  different  dates  of 
suitability,  according  to  the  character  of  the  current  season.  The 
best  practice  is  to  have  plants  available  in  different  seed  beds  and 
to  plant  out  in  succession  the  thriftiest  plants  at  hand  at  such  times 
as  the  season  may  show  fitness.  Planting  by  the  calendar  is  not 
usually  intelligent  practice  in  California,  as  has  been  aleady  stated. 

Growing  Plants. — It  is  wise  in  most  parts  of  California  to  start 
plants  in  a  seed-bed  from  August  to  October,  irrigating  the  ground 
well  to  guard  against  drying  out  on  land  not  naturally  moist.  In 
the  warmer  coast  regions  good  plants  can  be  grown  at  this  time  of 
the  year  in  the  open  ground.  Field  growth  of  cabbage  plants  with 
irrigation  in  southern  California  is  described  in  this  way : 

The  land  is  furrowed  out  at  various  widths,  depending  on  whether  the 
wheel  hoe  or  horse  cultivator  is  used  in  the  after-cultivating,  and  after  the 
furrows  have  been  made  a  light  planker  is  drawn  across  the  field  lengthwise 
over  the  ridges,  which  makes  a  fine  uniform  surface  on  which  to  sow  the  seed. 
This  is  done  with  a  seed  drill,  and  a  row  is  made  on  each  side  of  the  ridge, 
thus  making  a  double  row  with  a  furrow  on  each  side  for  irrigation.  Unless 
the  land  is  very  moist  when  the  seed  is  sown,  water  is  turned  into  the  furrows 
at  once  and  the  moisture  rises  by  capillarity  to  the  top  of  the  ridge,  thus  giving 


162  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

the  seed  a  chance  to  germinate  at  once.  As  with  lettuce,  if  the  seed  is  too 
thickly  sown  it  is  thinned  out  so  that  the  plants  will  grow  stocky.  As  soon 
as  the  plants  are  large  enough  they  are  transplanted  into  the  open  field,  which 
has  been  prepared  as  for  the  seed  rows,  except  that  the  rows  are  always  wide 
enough  for  horse  cultivation  and  only  one  row  is  set  on  the  edge  of  the  furrow. 

In  the  interior,  where  temperature  extremes  are  liable  to  be 
greater,  a  cold  frame,  or  covered  seed-bed,  may  be  used  to  protect 
the  young  plants  against  hot,  dry  winds.  In  small  garden  practice 
the  use  of  a  seed-box  is  often  handier.  Plants  should  be  given 
space  enough  to  grow  thriftily  and  should  be  transplanted  to  the 
field  when  conditions  are  right  for  planting  out  in  the  locality. 

Plants  started  in  August  and  September  may  be  planted  in  the 
field  as  soon  as  they  are  strong  enough,  when  an  early  winter  crop 
is  expected,  for  they  will  be  headed  up  well  from  January  to  March. 
Where  this  is  not  favored  by  the  local  climate,  it  is  still  advisable  to 
have  early  grown  plants,  and  in  garden  practice  they  can  be  several 
times  transplanted  and  thus  kept  small  and  stocky  for  planting  out 
when  the  soil  and  weather  are  right  for  it.  Where  the  early  winter 
is  apt  to  have  quite  severe  frosts,  plants  started  in  the  fall  in  the 
open  air  can  be  transplanted  to  cold  frames  until  this  danger  is  past. 

For  late  winter  and  spring  planting,  plants  may  be  started  later, 
say  in  January,  but  then  in  some  places  the  hot-bed,  or  other  form 
of  gentle  bottom  heat  described  in  the  chapter  on  propagation,  is 
desirable.  Care  must,  however,  always  be  taken  not  to  use  too  high 
heat  with  cabbage  plants,  and  for  usual  California  conditions  a  seed- 
bed, with  the  soil  made  light  enough  for  good  drainage,  and  with 
protection  from  cold  winds  as  afforded  by  a  fence  or  building,  is 
usually  coddling  enough  for  cabbages.  If,  however,  the  plants  are 
grown  with  heat  they  should  be  first  transplanted  to  a  cold  frame, 
or  a  protected  bed,  for  hardening  before  they  are  taken  to  open 
ground. 

Preparation  of  Cabbage  Ground. — Aside  from  generous  ma- 
nuring; for  it  is  hard  to  make  ground  too  rich  for  the  cabbage,  a 
good,  deep  working  of  the  soil  will  show  itself  in  the  crop.  For 
fall  planting  it  is  not  desirable  to  give  the  surface  as  fine  a  polish 
as  is  necessary  for  seed  sowing,  because  it  will  be  all  the  more  liable 
to  puddle  and  crust  with  the  rains.  If  the  plant  is  well  firmed  in 
fine  soil,  it  will  take  hold  well  and  the  interspaces  will  be  more 
receptive  if  left  a  little  open.  Subsequent  cultivation  will  fine  it 
sufficiently. 

In  special  fertilizing  for  cabbage  in  addition  to  free  use  of 
farm  manure,  worn  soils  can  be  enriched  with  400  to  500  Ibs.  of 
superphosphate  and  200  Ibs.  of  kainit,  harrowed  in  before  planting, 
and  from  200  to  400  Ibs.  nitrate  of  soda  is  given  divided  into  two 
to  three  applications,  according  to  quantity  allowed.  If  as  much  as 
4  cwt.  of  nitrate  of  soda  is  given  to  the  acre,  the  first  portion  may 
be  applied  when  it  is  noticed  the  plants  are  beginnning  to  catch  on, 
the  next  a  month  after,  and  the  last  dressing  three  weeks  later.  This 
usually  produces  a  marked  effect  on  the  crops. 


PLANTING  ANDJRRIGATING   CABBAGE  163 

Planting  Out. — Cabbages  are  usually  grown  in  the  field  in  rows 
two  and  a  half  to  three  feet  apart;  laid  out  with  a  marker,  the 
plants  being  distanced  about  fifteen  inches  in  the  rows.  Planting  is 
done  with  a  dibble,  and  a  man  can  plant  out  four  to  eight  thousand 
a  day,  according  to  his  expertness,  if  he  has  a  boy  to  drop  plants 
for  him.  The  earth  should  be  pressed  firmly  about  the  roots  with 
the  dibble. 

Planting  with  a  trowel  can  be  very  rapidly  done  in  this  way. 
Get  a  new  mason's  trowel  about  six  inches  wide  and  twelve  inches 
long  coming  to  a  point.  Cut  off  one  or  two  inches  of  the  point, 
making  it  round  on  the  grindstone.  Put  the  trowel  down  in  the 
soil  the  whole  length,  pull  it  over  toward  you,  put  in  the  plant,  take 
out  the  trowel,  then  step  on  the  soil  near  the  plant  to  make  it  firm. 

If  the  seed-bed  is  sandy  enough  and  is  allowed  to  become  a 
little  dry,  the  plants  can  be  lifted  readily  without  losing  roots.  Large 
bunches  of  plants  when  taken  to  the  field  should  be  protected  from 
sun  and  wind  by  a  wet  sack,  and  dropping  should  not  go  far  ahead 
of  the  planting. 

Early  planting  in  anticipation  of  rains  may  be  surer  to  hold  on 
if  a  little  water  is  used  in  planting  if  the  ground  is  inclined  to  be 
dry.  On  irrigated  ground,  which  is  given  a  good  soaking  before 
plowing  for  fall  planting,  this  may  not  be  necessary,  but  subsequent 
irrigation  must  be  given  in  time  if  rains  are  delayed,  for  the  plants 
must  not  be  allowed  to  stop  growing. 

Planting  out  on  irrigated  ground  after  the  land  has  been  pre- 
pared as  just  described  for  field  growing  of  plants,  can  be  done  in 
this  way: 

Have  plants  of  good  size  and  two  men  to  the  row;  one  with  a  long- 
handled  spade  to  open  a  place  along  the  edge  of  the  furrow  by  inserting  the 
spade  at  an  angle  of  about  45  degrees  and  without  withdrawing  it,  but  simply 
raising  it  up  until  the  other  man,  who  carried  the  plants  in  a  pail  which  had 
a  little  water  in  the  bottom,  could  slip  a  plant  under  the  spade,  when  by  a 
deft,  quick  movement  the  spade  could  be  withdrawn  and  the  soil  allowed  to 
fall  upon  the  roots,  when  the  man  with  the  spade  was  careful  to  step  on  the 
plant  just  over  the  roots  and  thus  firm  the  earth.  By  having  the  proper  force 
of  men  employed  to  get  the  plants  from  the  seed  bed  to  the  field,  so  that  the 
men  planting  could  proceed  without  hindrance,  it  is  astonishing  how  rapidly 
the  plants  can  be  set ;  and  by  choosing  the  after  part  of  the  day  and  turning 
the  water  in  right  after  each  row  was  planted,  the  plants  receive  scarcely  any 
check  by  removal. 

Fall  planting  for  irrigation  is  described  by  D.  F.  Reichard  in  the 
California  Cultivator  as  follows : 

The  main  plantings  of  cabbage  and  cauliflower  seed  should  be  made  dur- 
ing September,  starting  the  plants  in  beds  or  in  rows  where  they  can  get  the 
best  care.  When  the  plants  are  six  to  eight  weeks  old  set  out  where  they  are 
to  mature.  Prepare  the  ground  by  working  it  not  less  than  a  foot  deep,  hav- 
ing it  thoroughly  soaked  beforehand.  After  the  land  is  pulverized  and  leveled, 
furrow  out,  for  cabbage,  eight  inches  and  for  cauliflower  ten  to  twelve  inches 
deep,  setting  the  plants  on  one  side  of  the  furrow  near  the  bottom.  Then  run 
water  down  the  furrow  as  soon  as  the  row  is  set,  allowing  the  water  to  come 
up  to  the  plant  and  as  the  plants  grow  gradually  work  the  soil  into  the  furrows 
until  they  become  ridges. 


164  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Field  planting  by  machinery  as  practiced  to  some  extent  in  the 
eastern  states,  is  not  prevalent  in  California. 

Cultivation. — Cabbages  must  be  kept  well  cultivated  to  reach 
their  best  estate.  Early  cabbages  will  head  in  two  and  a  half  to 
four  months,  according  to  weather  and  soil  conditions,  and  size  will 
depend  much  upon  cultivation  in  connection  with  soil  richness  and 
adequate  moisture.  Hardly  any  plant  delights  more  in  soil  stirring. 
Rapid  growth  during  the  winter  also  gives  the  plant  the  advantage 
over  the  lice  or  aphis,  which  sap  the  life  of  unthrifty  plants,  and  is 
worse  on  late-planted  cabbages  because  of  the  dry,  hot  weather  they 
are  likely  to  encounter. 

Cabbage  Worm  and  Louse. — These  two  pests  are  the  bane  of 
the  cabbage  grower.  For  the  cabbage  worm  take  a  teaspoonful  of 
Paris  green  and  a  pound  of  bran  stirred  into  a  gallon  of  water  and 
the  moist  bran  is  then  sprinkled  over  the  cabbages.  A  cheaper 
treatment  is  two  pounds  of  lead  arsenate  powder  (or  four  pounds 
of  the  paste  form)  to  fifty  gallons  of  water — to  be  sprayed  on  the 
plants.  To  hit  the  louse  also,  add  four  ounces  of  tobacco  extract 
(40  per  cent)  for  each  fifty  gallons.  The  plants  ought  to  be  watched 
and  sprayed  again  later,  for  both  these  pests  are  liable  to  keep  com- 
ing. As  for  poisoning  the  cabbage  with  the  arsenate,  a  late  govern- 
ment report  says  that  one  must  eat  twenty-eight  heads  of  cabbage 
at  once  to  get  poison  enough  to  make  him  sick.  Still,  outer  leaves 
should  be  removed  before  cooking.  We  would  not  use  the  tobacco 
spray  on  heads  nearly  ready.  A  good  hard  rain  or  a  stiff  spray  with 
cold  water  will  dislodge  most  of  the  lice  if  the  treatment  is  given 
before  they  become  too  abundant. 

Harvesting. — The  cabbage  field  is  usually  cut  over  for  a  winter 
shipment  three  times  in  about  six  weeks,  and  then  the  ground  is 
cleared  up  and  put  in  shape  for  a  summer  crop. 

Cabbage  for  Stock  Feed. — In  field  growth  of  cabbage  all  im- 
perfect heads  are  used  for  cow  feed  and  if  fed  right  after  milking 
and  not  in  too  large  quantities,  are  said  not  to  taint  the  milk.  They 
should  be  fed  in  connection  with  some  dry  feed.  Very  often  cabbage 
can  be  grown  to  advantage  especially  for  cow  feed.  Planted  out  in 
February  or  March  they  would  be  fit  to  use  by  the  latter  part  of 
June,  just  about  the  time  that  the  grass  gets  dry  and  cows  want 
something  juicy  to  keep  up  the  flow  of  milk.  In  their  use,  however, 
care  must  be  taken  to  strip  them  of  any  decaying  leaves,  as  nothing 
will  impart  a  bad  taste  to  milk  and  butter  quicker  than  the  use  of 
decaying  vegetable  matter  of  any  kind.  On  moist  land  late  cabbages 
are  considerably  grown  for  poultry  and  can  be  pulled  for  them  all 
through  the  dry  season. 

Varieties  of  the  Cabbage. — Of  the  many  varieties  of  cabbage 
only  a  few  are  largely  grown  in  California. 

Early  Jersey  Wakefield  is  the  earliest  cabbage  and  is  widely 
popular.  It  makes  up  in  earliness  for  any  lack  in  size.  Heads 
pyramidal  in  shape  having  blunted  or  rounded  peak. 


SAVOY  CABBAGE  AND  BRUSSELS  SPROUTS  165 

Early  Spring:  this  is  the  local  name  of  a  variety  grown  by 
market  gardeners  around  San  Francisco  instead  of  Early  Jersey 
Wakefield,  as  it  makes  a  little  larger  head. 

Early  Winningstadt :  follows  Jersey  Wakefield  in  maturity; 
pointed  shape;  head  compact,  firm  and  heavy.  Very  popular  in 
southern  California,  heading  uniformly  in  the  hottest  weather. 

All-Head  Early :  the  earliest  of  the  large,  flat  varieties  and  the 
largest,  uniform  growth  and  good  for  a  long  season. 

Mammoth  Drumhead :  head  thick  and  broad,  quite  flat  on  top ; 
a  standard  late  variety  reaching  the  largest  size. 

Cannon  Ball :  said  to  be  earliest  to  mature,  ten  days  ahead  of 
Winningstadt;  a  selection  from  Danish  Ball  Head  and  a  better 
yielder,  with  a  head  weighing  six  or  eight  pounds ;  should  be  planted 
at  fourteen  to  sixteen  inches  or  the  heads  may  be  too  large. 

Copenhagen  Market :  good  for  home  garden ;  fine  round  head ; 
matures  late. 

Flat  Dutch :  very  widely  grown  as  a  late  cabbage ;  head  large, 
round  and  solid,  flat  on  top ;  very  sure  header  and  good  keeper. 

Holland  or  Danish  Ball-Head :  very  late,  not  large  but  very 
firm  and  round  head,  stands  in  the  field  a  long  time;  popular  for 
eastern  shipment  and  for  winter  keeping. 

Surehead:  large,  round,  flattened  heads  of  good  texture;  good 
for  shipping ;  a  long  keeper,  good  for  a  standard  crop. 

All  Seasons  or  Succession:  a  large  cabbage,  rather  late  in 
maturing;  has  large  foliage,  which  protects  the  head  from  the  ex- 
treme heat  of  summer. 

THE  SAVOY  CABBAGE. 

The  distinguishing  characteristics  of  the  Savoy  varieties  is  their 
crimped  leaves.  They  are  held  to  be  somewhat  milder  in  flavor 
than  the  common  cabbage.  Their  culture  is  precisely  the  same  as 
of  the  common  cabbage.  They  are  very  little  grown  in  California, 
but  are  desirable  in  giving  variety  to  the  home  garden  supply,  and 
sometimes  profitable  in  local  markets.  The  American  Drumhead 
Savoy  is  a  good  variety. 

BRUSSELS  SPROUTS. 

Brussels  sprouts  require  considerably  longer  to  reach  maturity 
than  the  cabbage,  as  the  little  rosettes  have  to  develop  at  the  bases 
of  the  leaves  after  the  latter  are  grown.  The  sprouts  appear  first 
at  the  lower  part  of  the  stem  and  appear  later  above,  thus  giving 
many  cuttings  from  the  same  stems.  The  crown  of  leaves  at  the 
top  should  not  be  removed  until  the  stem  has  done  its  work.  In 
California  the  sprouts  are  taken  from  the  stems  in  the  places  where 
they  grow,  as  our  winter  does  not  require  taking  up  the  plants  and 
storing  them  under  protection  for  the  winter  "sprouting."  This,  of 
course,  is  a  great  advantage. 


166  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

The  plants  are  quite  hardy  and  in  most  parts  of  California  bring 
their  crop  in  the  winter  from  plants  set  out  in  succession  during  the 
previous  spring  and  summer.  They  do  best  in  the  cool,  summer 
climate  of  the  coast.  Wherever  grown  they  must  have  abundant 
moisture  all  summer.  The  culture  is  the  same  as  for  cabbage  except 
as  to  their  longer  season  of  growth,  which  has  been  noted.  The 
"Improved  Half-Dwarf"  is  the  variety  mostly  grown. 

CAULIFLOWER. 

The  cauliflower  is  one  of  the  grandest  vegetables  in  California. 
It  attains  large  size  and  superb  quality,  but  it  is  not  universally 
grown,  as  is  the  cabbage,  because  it  is  rather  more  tender  and  exact- 
ing and  more  rebellious  under  neglect  or  deprivation.  While  it  is 
perfectly  simple  and  easy  for  a  person  with  any  joy  and  zeal  in  gar- 
dening to  grow  a  grand  cauliflower,  the  lack  of  these  qualities  will 
yield  distressing  failures.  He  may  busy  himself  with  a  fair  sort  of 
cabbages,  but  his  cauliflowers  will  point  gaunt  fingers  at  him  instead 
of  nestling  down  in  tight  masses  of  snowy  curds,  as  if  to  shame  him 
for  his  ill-treatment  of  them.  For  this  reason  cabbages  are  seen 
everywhere  and  cauliflowers  seldom,  except  in  the  market  gardens 
or  in  the  fields  where  grown  for  distant  shipment — the  product 
being  half  as  large  of  cauliflower  as  of  cabbage.  The  largest  cauli- 
flower producer  of  California,  J.  N.  Teague  of  southern  California, 
grows  regularly  160  acres  a  year  and  ships  over  one  hundred  car- 
loads from  his  own  fields.  He  arranges  to  grow  early,  middle  and 
late  varieties  and  gives  the  trade  almost  a  continuous  supply. 

The  growth  of  the  cauliflower  is  in  the  main  the  same  as  the 
cabbage  except  that  a  little  higher  heat  and  greater  protection  are 
needed  for  the  young  plants  and  a  little  more  diligent  cultivation 
and  faithful  attention  to  moisture  supply  for  the  later  growth.  The 
writer's  observation  is  that  most  cases  of  failure  with  cauliflowers 
are  attributable  to  delay  in  starting  the  plants  and  planting  out  too 
late,  and  to  insufficient  or  intermittent  moisture  supply.  Summer 
heading  of  cauliflower  is  difficult  unless  the  plants  are  started  in  the 
seed-beds  in  the  winter  and  planted  out  early  in  the  spring,  for  a 
spring  start  from  the  seed  is  apt  to  amount  to  little.  Winter  head- 
ing is  surer  if  the  plants  are  in  the  seed-beds  by  June  and  in  ground, 
properly  irrigated  and  worked,  in  August.  Besides  the  error  of 
starting  at  wrong  times,  many  plantings  go  wrong  toward  the  end 
of  their  course,  through  lack  of  work  and  water  on  the  home  stretch. 
In  the  milder  regions  it  is  possible  to  start  so  early  that  less  atten- 
tion, perhaps,  has  to  be  given  to  watering,  but  where  the  local  climate 
requires  spring  planting  the  reason  for  failure  is  generally  to  be  seen 
in  the  hard,  dry  ground  on  which  the  plants  strive  in  vain  to  answer 
the  grower's  expectations. 

Shipping  Requirements. — The  following  account  of  selecting 
cauliflowers  for  shipment  in  a  San  Francisco  warehouse  gives  some 
good  hints  of  requirements: 


CALIFORNIA   CAULIFLOWER   GROWING  167 

With  a  long  knife,  he  would  chop  off  the  leaf  ends  within  about  two 
inches  of  the  head.  If  he  couldn't  see  the  head  then  without  pulling  the 
leaves  away  it  passed  as  "white  and  solid"  for  the  incurving  leaves  have 
protected  it  from  the  sun.  If  it  were  too  old  it  would  have  spread  out  and 
opened  the  leaves  apart.  But  a  large  percentage  could  be  seen  and  then  a 
quick  look  decided  whether  the  head  would  go  into  the  pile  to  be  sold  at 
about  25  cents  per  dozen  to  peddlers  for  immediate  consumption  in  the  city, 
or  whether  he  would  toss  it  to  the  representative  of  the  shipping  company 
who  was  packing  the  acceptable  cauliflower  in  "pony"  crates.  Many  heads 
were  soft,  would  spread  apart  on  pressure  with  the  fingers,  many  were  yel- 
lowed, many  covered  with  dust  blown  probably  from  the  road.  These  could 
not  be  shipped. 

When  to  Cut  Cauliflower. — According  to  his  own  confession, 
it  took  R.  M.  Plympton,  of  Arroyo  Grande,  a  long  time  to  learn  to 
cut  the  cauliflower  at  the  right  stage.  Sometimes  it  looks  all  right 
when  still  immature.  In  such  cases,  a  delay  of  three  or  four  days 
greatly  increases  the  weight  and  price  without  hurting  the  quality. 
When  such  heads  are  found  in  the  regular  semi-weekly  picking,  the 
leaves  are  broken  over  them  so  they  will  not  sunburn,  or  get  dirty, 
or  turn  yellow,  and  so  the  rain  will  be  kept  off.  Too  much  rain  is 
likely  to  hurt  the  heads.  The  cauliflower  is  ready  to  cut  when  the 
sections  of  a  head  spread  out  just  enough  to  show  very  slightly  the 
lines  of  separation  between  them.  Plenty  of  big  leaves  are  left 
around  each  head  until  they  are  trimmed  at  the  house.  If  the 
cauliflower  is  to  go  a  long  distance,  more  leaves  are  left  on  to  pro- 
tect the  heads  from  dirt  and  injury. 

Vegetable  crates  20x22x24  inches  are  packed  with  about  three 
dozen  heads  per  crate,  weighing  110  to  125  pounds — large  and  small 
being  packed  together  to  economize  space.  Grading  for  size  is  also 
practiced,  however,  by  some  growers. 

Soil. — Like  the  cabbage,  the  cauliflower  likes  good,  rich  soil 
and  plenty  of  water ;  coarse,  long  manure  answers  the  purpose  of  a 
fertilizer  very  well  if  the  soil  is  heavy;  if  applied  on  the  surface, 
either  on  light  or  heavy  soil,  it  keeps  the  ground  loose  and  the  water 
soaks  through,  and  thus  the  soil  is  always  moist. 

Situation. — The  cauliflower  is  less  hardy  than  the  cabbage,  and 
where  there  is  a  choice  of  situations  in  the  garden,  it  should  be 
given,  for  winter  growing,  the  one  which  is  warmer  and  more  pro- 
tected. It  also  resents  heat  which  a  cabbage  will  endure,  and  for 
summer  growing  will  be  benefited  by  partial  shade. 

Growing  Plants. — There  is  a  wide  difference  in  practice  in 
different  regions.  On  irrigated  ground  in  the  foothills  seed  is  sown 
in  the  open  ground  in  June  or  July,  by  making  the  soil  as  fine  as 
possible;  sow  the  seeds  and  cover  with  a  slight  coat  of  well-rotted 
manure ;  keep  well  wet  down.  This  prevents  drying  out  and  harden- 
ing of  the  ground  and  the  plants  come  along  finely.  Similar  prac- 
tice is  followed  in  regions  of  little  frost  in  other  parts  of  the  state 
at  different  times  from  July  to  September,  for  winter  cutting.  As 
eastern  shipments  of  cauliflower  continue  from  December  through 
the  winter,  early  growth  of  plants  is  necessary,  and  the  fall  weather 


168  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

is  so  warm  that  the  seed-bed  only  needs  a  little  sunshading  and 
ample  moisture. 

In  colder  parts  of  the  state,  as  for  example  in  small  valleys 
liable  to  sharp  frosts,  some  seasons  favor  fall-grown  plants,  others 
do  not,  and  though  it  is  always  advisable  to  have  them  for  small 
plantings  by  those  who  delight  in  taking  the  chances  on  early  things, 
January  or  February  planting  in  a  hot-bed  for  spring  and  summer 
growth  must  be  the  main  practice.  Hot-bed  plants  should  be  grown 
at  rather  a  low  temperature  and  transplanted  to  a  cold  frame  or 
other  place  under  some  cover  to  harden  before  planting  out.  Young 
plants  must  not  be  so  wet  as  to  "damp-off"  and  they  should  not  be 
huddled  together  as  closely  as  cabbages  may  be. 

After-treatment. — Field  growth  of  cauliflower  is  like  that  of 
cabbage,  though  for  winter  growth  one  must  be  sure  of  a  little 
milder  exposure.  Planting  out  during  the  winter  must  be  done  with 
due  regard  to  the  fact  that  the  cauliflower  is  a  more  tender  plant, 
and  extra  care  must  be  had  to  plant  when  the  soil  is  in  proper  con- 
dition of  warmth  and  moisture.  Fall  planting  requires  due  moist- 
ure and  the  assurance  of  it  is  to  push  the  plant  along  rapidly. 

Garden  Practice. — Amateurs  who  have  become  discouraged 
over  growing  cauliflower  are  advised  to  try  the  method  of  the  late 
Ira  W.  Adams,  of  Potter  valley,  being  sure  they  are  faithful  in  all 
points  before  they  conclude  that  this  vegetable  must  be  bought,  not 
grown.  Mr.  Adams'  experience  was  in  a  small  valley  where  frosts 
are  rather  sharp  and  where  fall  planting  is  seldom  satisfactory. 

About  the  middle  of  February  throw  into  a  snug  heap  a  lot  of  fresh 
horse  manure  mixed  with  short  straw  and  leaves.  After  standing  a  few 
days  to  heat,  throw  it  over  and  let  it  remain  a  day  or  two;  then  make  it  into 
a  compact  heap  (on  the  south  side  of  the  barn),  some  three  or  four  feet  in 
depth  and  about  twice  the  surface  required  for  the  seed-bed.  Tread  it  down 
well.  On  this,  place  three  or  four  inches  of  good  soil  made  light  and  rich 
with  fine,  well- rotted  manure;  some  leaf  mold,  sand,  and  a  very  little  ashes 
is  a  very  valuable  addition.  Do  not  sift  the  dirt  nor  have  it  too  fine.  This 
seed-bed  must  be  protected  from  frost  and  cold  rain,  as  well  as  cold  days 
and  nights,  by  a  cover  of  glass  or  muslin;  muslin  answers  every  purpose, 
is  cheaper,  easier  handled,  and  does  not  draw  the  plants  up  weak  and  spin- 
dling as  glass  often  does. 

From  time  to  time,  if  the  weather  continues  cold,  throw  around  the 
seed-bed  fresh  horse  manure  sometimes  to  the  depth  of  four  feet  or  more, 
leaving  only  the  front  side  exposed  to  the  sun.  The  heat  generated  and 
escaping  from  this  manure  serves  to  keep  the  temperature  around  the  bed 
several  degrees  higher  than  it  would  have  otherwise  been.  When  the  plants 
are  two  or  three  inches  high,  transplant  to  another  rich  bed  without  any 
bottom  heat,  set  the  plants  three  inches  apart  and  keep  covered  as  little  as 
possible  in  order  to  harden  them.  Be  sure  to  keep  both  seed-beds  always 
well  moistened  (not  wet),  with  lukewarm  water.  A  little  weak  manure 
water  occasionally  is  very  beneficial. 

When  the  plants  are  six  or  seven  inches  high,  transplant  to  open  ground 
on  a  cloudy  day  if  possible,  or  just  at  night,  giving  each  plant  a  cup  of 
water.  The  ground  should  be  prepared  in  the  best  possible  manner  and  made 
very  rich  with  manure  thoroughly  decomposed.  Horse,  cow,  hog,  and  chicken 
manure  mixed  as  good  as  any.  Put  the  plants  three  feet  (or  nearly  so) 
apart,  to  give  plenty  of  room  for  cultivation,  which  should  be  done  once  a 


GARDEN  GROWTH  OF   CAULIFLOWER  169 

week  at  least,  twice  is  better,  and  hoe  them  often — the  more  the  better,  espe- 
cially early  in  the  morning  when  the  ground  is  wet  with  dew.  Cauliflower 
must  never  stop  growing  or  the  ground  get  dry;  they  must  have  an  abun- 
dance of  moisture.  Run  the  water  down  the  rows  every  night  if  the  weather 
is  pretty  hot;  however,  cauliflower  succeeds  best  if  fully  matured  before  hot 
weather  sets  in,  which  generally  comes  early  in  June. 

When  they  commence  to  head,  gather  the  leaves  together  and  tie  loosely 
over  the  heads;  this  greatly  facilitates  blanching,  and  protects  them  from 
getting  brown  and  bitter  from  the  effects  of  the  hot  sun.  They  should  be 
examined  often  and  cut  while  the  head  is  close  and  compact,  as,  after  the 
head  opens,  it  separates  into  branches,  gets  coarse,  rough,  fibrous,  strong 
flavored  and  consequently  almost  if  not  wholly  worthless. 

A  cauliflower  would  be  an  ungrateful  thing  if  it  did  not  grow 
with  Mr.  Adams'  treatment.  But  it  will  grow  and  grow  immensely. 
Fortunately,  it  is  not  necessary  in  all  places  to  do  quite  so  much 
work,  or  field  growth  for  export  would  languish.  If  the  reader  will 
discern  the  conditions  which  Mr.  Adams  secures  he  will  be  profited, 
for  they  underlie  the  success  of  the  plant  in  all  situations.  Break- 
ing the  tall  leaves  so  that  they  will  fall  inward  and  protect  the  form- 
ing head  is  preferred  to  tying  up,  by  some  growers.  This  should  be 
done  as  the  head  begins  to  form.  The  cauliflower  must  be  cut  for 
use  or  sale  before  the  head  begins  to  spread;  it  must  be  white  and 
compact  or  it  is  worthless. 

Inter-Culture  with  Cauliflower. — Either  with  cabbage  or  cauli- 
flower some  inter-cropping  could  be  done  in  the  irrigated  garden  if 
the  fullest  use  of  the  space  must  be  made.  In  early  spring  planting, 
lettuce  plants  grown  in  a  seed-bed  can  be  set  between  cauliflowers 
at  the  same  time  of  setting  out  the  plants.  As  soon  as  the  lettuce  is 
ready  to  cut,  plant  some  variety  of  early  beans  close  to  the  lettuce, 
and  by  the  time  the  lettuce  is  cut  the  beans  are  up,  and  by  this  time 
the  cauliflower  is  ready  to  cut.  Pull  the  stumps  as  the  cauliflower 
is  cut  and  this  gives  the  ground  to  the  coming  crop  of  beans.  Thus 
three  crops  can  be  raised  on  the  same  ground  the  same  season.  This 
cropping  can  only  be  done  on  a  summer  crop  of  cauliflower.  For 
winter  cauliflower,  set  Hanson's  lettuce  between  each  plant,  and  in 
this  way  have  early  lettuce  when  lettuce  is  scarce.  Other  combina- 
tions and  successions  will  readily  suggest  themselves.  „ 

Varieties  of  Cauliflower. — Several  varieties  are  popular  in  this 
state : 

Early  Snowball:  early  and  a  sure  header;  large,  white,  and 
fine;  robust;  counted  the  best  all-round  variety. 

California  Wonder:  comes  into  market  after  the  Early  Snow- 
ball, producing  much  larger  heads,  and  of  the  finest  quality.  It  has 
been  extensively  grown  for  eastern  market. 

California  Pearl:  held  to  be  specially  suited  to  semi-tropical 
climates  and  for  shipment  because  of  full  leaf-cover  of  the  head. 

Dry  Weather:  claimed  particular  endurance  of  heat  and 
drouth;  heads  large  as  Snowball  and  nearly  as  early. 

California  Mammoth :  of  local  origin,  very  large,  commended 
for  local  use  only. 


170  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Extra  Early  Paris :  head  medium  size ;  compact ;  stem  short ; 
hardy  and  rather  easy  to  grow. 

Extra  Early  Erfurt :  very  early,  small  leaves ;  solid,  fine  quality. 

Autumn  Giant:  large,  white,  firm,  and  solid;  keeps  condition 
well. 

Large  Algiers:  fine  for  late  variety;  especially  popular  in 
southern  California. 

Lenormand's  Short  Stemmed :  large,  fine,  and  compact ;  stocky 
growth;  heads  late  and  protects  itself  well  with  foliage. 

Nonpareil  or  Half-Early  Paris:  midseason  variety  of  good 
standing. 

BROCCOLI. 

This  is  another  variety  of  the  same  botanical  species  as  the 
cauliflower.  It  is  hardier  and  of  slower  growth,  but  is  smaller  in 
the  head  than  cauliflower  and  counted  less  desirable  otherwise.  It 
is  grown  to  a  very  slight  extent,  and  cuts  very  little  figure  in  Cali- 
fornia. It  is  grown  in  the  same  ways  as  the  cauliflower  but  it  takes 
longer  to  reach  maturity.  Those  who  fail  with  cauliflower  might 
do  well  with  broccoli,  which  is  less  exacting. 

Mr.  Albert  F.  Etter,  of  Briceland,  Humboldt  county,  exalts 
broccoli  as  not  only  equal  to  cauliflower  but  better  adapted  to  con- 
ditions in  many  places  in  California.  It  is  slower  in  heading,  but 
some  varieties  of  broccoli  come  in  near  to  the  late  cauliflowers. 
Broccoli  should  not  be  sown  too  early,  nor  should  it  be  forced  along 
until  the  moist  air  of  autumn  comes  with  the  rains.  Then  it  will 
advance  splendidly  and  good  full  heads  can  be  had  from  Christmas 
until  February.  A  temperature  as  low  as  17  degrees  will  not  hurt 
them  much,  and  not  at  all  if  the  leaves  are  tied  up  over  the  de- 
veloping head.  Broccoli  will  make  a  good  fall  and  winter  growth 
on  land  which  is  rather  poor,  if  a  moderate  amount  of  manure  is 
spread  around  the  plants  at  the  beginning  of  the  rainy  season. 

The  best  varieties  are  Large  or  Mammoth  White  and  Purple 
Cape. 

BORECOLE   OF    KALE. 

This  term  covers  the  non-heading  cabbages,  with  a  wonderful 
variety  and  form  and  foliage,  and  a  record  divided  between  use  and 
ornament.  There  is  a  host  of  varieties,  some  of  which  are  grown 
for  the  tender  shoots :  others  for  foliage.  The  edible  sorts  are 
very  little  grown  in  California;  those  used  for  garnishment  are 
more  frequently  seen.  The  two  varieties  most  known  are  the  Tall 
Green  Curled  or  Scotch  and  the  Dwarf  Curled  or  German  Greens. 
The  plants  are  very  hardy  and  are  winter-grown. 

TALL  GROWING  COLLARDS. 

The  Jersey  Kale  or  Tree  Cabbage  is  quite  widely  distributed 
and  has  won  high  favor  as  food  for  cows  and  poultry.  It  is  peren- 


KALE  AND  CABBAGE  FOR  STOCK  171 

nial  in  the  coast  regions  of  the  central  and  southern  parts  of  the 
state,  and  endures  defoliating  very  well.  It  is  less  thrifty  in  the 
interior  heat  and  drought. 

The  Oregon  Kale  is  an  old  European  collard,  sometimes  called 
Thousand  Headed  Cabbage.  It  belongs  to  the  same  class  as  Jersey 
Kale,  but  has  thinner  stems  and  is,  therefore,  more  easily  handled 
with  mowing  or  corn-cutting  machinery.  It  was  introduced  in  the 
Willamette  valley,  Oregon,  more  than  a  third  of  a  century  ago,  but 
only  recently  has  its  value  been  recognized  as  a  winter  feed  for 
stock  and  largely  grown.  It  endures  local  freezing  and  is  hauled 
from  the  fields  as  needed  for  feeding.  The  plants  are  grown  in 
field  drills  and  transplanted  in  May  to  the  land  to  be  covered  with 
it,  the  plants  being  set  in  every  third  furrow  as  the  field  is  plowed 
and  covered  in  with  the  next  furrow,  the  ground  being  afterwards 
rolled  to  compact  the  dirt  around  the  roots.  Planting  with  a  ma- 
chine on  land  previously  plowed  and  harrowed  is  also  practiced. 
Kale  may  also  be  grown  in  the  way  already  described  for  field 
growth  of  cabbage  except  that  the  plants  should  be  given  rather 
more  room.  In  California  the  plant  is  likely  to  be  of  value  for  stock 
feeding  by  fall  planting  and  winter  growth  as  well  as  by  summer 
growth  to  stand  for  winter  use  as  in  Oregon.  In  fact,  winter  growth 
for  summer  feeding  may  also  be  practicable  in  California,  especially 
near  the  coast.  As  with  other  members  of  the  cabbage  family,  dairy 
cows  should  be  fed  kale  just  after  milking  to  avoid  risk  of  tainting 
the  milk. 

Marrow  kale  or  cabbage  resembles  the  foregoing  when  young, 
but  afterwards  the  stalk  enlarges  until  several  inches  in  diameter. 
The  pith  or  marrow  often  cracks  open.  It  has  attracted  some  atten- 
tion in  the  northern  coast  district  for  cow  feeding. 


CHAPTER    XVII. 


THE  CARROT,  PARSNIP  AND  SALSIFY. 

CARROT. — Daucus  carota. 

French,    carotte ;    German,    mohre,    gelbriibe ;    Dutch,    wortel ;    Italian, 
carota;  Spanish,  zanahoria;  Portuguese,  cenoura. 

PARSNIP. — Pastinaca  sativa. 

French,  panais;  German,  pastinake;  Dutch,  pastinaak;  Danish,  pastinak; 
Italian,  pastinaca;  Spanish,  chirivia;  Portuguese,  pastinaga. 

SALSIFY. — Tragopogong  porrifolius. 

French,    salsifis;    German,   haferworzel;    Flemish,    haverwortel;    Danish, 
havrerod;  Italian,  barba  di  becco;  Spanish,  salsifi  bianco;  Portuguese,  cercifi. 

The  carrot  is  a  very  popular  root  in  California,  and  is  grown 
in  all  parts  of  the  state,  both  for  the  table  and  for  stock  feeding. 
It  is  perfectly  hardy  in  all  temperatures  which  come  to  California 
valleys  and  foothills.  It  is  patient  during  drought  and  proceeds 
quickly  with  its  growth  with  renewed  moisture,  which  is  a  very 
valuable  characteristic  in  growing  the  carrot  for  stock  feeding,  but 
table  carrots  should  not  be  subjected  to  this  ordeal,  but  should  be 
pushed  with  adequate  moisture  quickly  from  the  seed  to  size  to 
secure  the  desired  tenderness  and  mild  flavor.  To  attain  the  coveted 
weight  for  stock  feeding,  however,  it  is  quite  an  advantage  to  have 
the  rain  beyond  the  dry  season,  as  well  as  before  it,  because  early 
sowing  in  cold,  wet  ground  does  not  suit  the  plant  and  late  sowing 
does  not  give  the  plant  time  enough  except  on  irrigated  land,  to  do 
its  best  in  size  before  the  dry  season  checks  its  growth.  By  proper 
practice,  then,  it  is  possible  to  produce  great  crops  of  carrots  in  the 
drier  parts  of  the  state,  as  well  as  in  the  moister  lands  and  regions. 

Soil  and  Tillage. — The  requirements  of  the  carrot  so  closely 
resemble  that  of  the  beet  that  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  sugges- 
tions for  culture  already  given  for  the  beet.  The  carrot  has  the 
same  liking  for  a  light,  warm  soil,  and  the  same  reasons  exist  for 
a  deep  and  thorough  preparation  of  the  soil ;  for,  though  the  carrot, 
if  the  seed  is  sown  after  the  chill  and  surplus  water  have  gone  out 
of  a  heavy  soil,  will  do  very  well  if  well  cultivated,  it  produces  the 
largest  and  most  shapely  roots  when  it  can  deeply  penetrate  and 
easily  displace  the  soil  in  its  expansion.  Carrot  ground  should, 
then,  receive  early  working  to  receive  the  rains,  and  be  plowed  again 
and  well  loosened  up  and  fined  before  the  seed  is  sown. 

Sowing  Carrot  Seed. — It  is  very  necessary  that  the  soil  should 
be  in  good  condition.  Sowing  in  late  summer  or  early  fall  on  moist 
or  irrigated  ground  is  practicable,  and  so  is  sowing  immediately 
after  the  early  fall  rains  have  moistened  the  soil  sufficiently  to  pre- 
vent drying  out.  Plants  from  October  sowing  are  ready  for  pulling 
[172] 


CARROTS   IN    CALIFORNIA  173 

from  March  onward,  but  if  the  place  is  quite  frosty  and  the  soil 
apt  to  be  water-soaked,  spring  planting  is  better.  For  this  reason, 
as  already  stated,  some  prefer  to  bridge  the  dry  season,  sowing  in 
March  or  even  in  April,  so  that  the  young  plant  may  have  the  best 
conditions  at  the  start.  As  it  gets  age  it  becomes  hardier  and  can 
be  taken  from  the  ground  in  good  condition  and  maximum  size  all 
during  the  following  winter.  Late  sowing  is  also  advocated  because 
of  the  opportunity  to  kill  weeds  by  plowing  in  the  winter  growth 
before  seeding.  This  practice  is  generally  approved  in  the  coast 
regions  of  the  northern  part  of  the  state.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
southern  California,  and  in  most  parts  of  the  San  Joaquin  and  Sac- 
ramento valleys,  on  the  lighter  soils  especially,  a  start  from  the 
seed  in  December  or  January,  when  weather  and  soil  favor  it, 
gives  the  plant  a  chance  to  root  well  before  the  dry  season  and  then 
it  is  in  much  better  condition  to  stand  heat  and  drought  than  if 
younger.  Both  practices  are  rational  and  each  is  adapted  to  its  own 
set  of  conditions. 

Carrot  seed  must  be  fresh.  It  is  small,  rather  difficult  to  handle 
evenly,  and  requires  a  shallow  covering  of  earth.  It  is  more  difficult 
to  get  a  good  stand  of  carrots  than  of  beets,  but  care  will  insure  it 
with  good  seed.  Distribution  is  facilitated  by  mixing  the  seed 
thoroughly  with  a  certain  amount  of  moist  sand,  and  if  the  mixture 
is  kept  warm  and  moist  the  seed  may  be  allowed  to  sprout  slightly 
before  sowing  but  not  too  far.  The  seed  must  be  placed  in  moist 
ground,  and  half  an  inch  is  covering  enough  except  in  light  soils 
likely  to  dry  down.  The  seed  should  be  pressed  down  well  or  the 
soil  firmed  about  it,  and  then  lightly  covered  and  the  covering 
pressed  slightly. 

Cultivation. — Carrots  in  field  culture  are  usually  grown  in  rows 
two  or  three  feet  apart  according  to  the  notion  of  the  grower.  Thin- 
ning in  the  row  is  seldom  done  though  the  advantage  of  it  would 
be  shown  in  better  roots  just  as  with  beets.  Growers  shrink,  how- 
ever, from  the  expense  and  prefer  to  trust  to  frequent  cultivation 
between  the  rows. 

Ridge  Culture  of  Carrots. — Where  it  is  desired  to  get  an  early 
start  in  a  locality  with  a  heavy  rainfall  the  ridge  system  gives  good 
results.  Choose  rich  soil,  plow  after  the  first  rain,  and  then  in  Janu- 
ary or  February  when  the  ground  gets  warm  (according  to  the 
season  and  locality)  cross-plow  and  harrow  until  the  ground  is 
thoroughly  pulverized.  Then  ridge  some  two  or  three  and  a  half 
feet  apart,  rake  off  the  combs  of  the  furrows,  making  them  level 
on  top  and  free  from  lumps.  Put  in  the  seed  by  hand  or  with  a 
seed  drill  covering  lightly,  cultivate  and  thin  out  for  cow-feed  dur- 
ing the  summer  and  the  crop  will  be  of  good  uniform  size  for  horse- 
feed  during  the  following  winter  and  spring.  Though  this  practice 
is  still  followed  by  some  it  has  been  widely  superseded  in  field  work 
by  later  sowing  and  flat  culture.  For  an  early  start  in  the  farm 
garden  it  has,  however,  some  advantages. 


174  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Harvesting. — This  is  done  by  pulling,  after  loosening  with  the 
plow.  The  time,  as  already  stated,  is  usually  during  the  winter, 
but  feeding  often  commences  in  the  fall  and  continues  for  several 
months — just  as  with  mangels. 

Field  Varieties. — Several  large,  yellow  and  white  varieties  are 
used  for  stock  purposes.  The  richer  color  and  more  convenient  size 
of  the  yellow  varieties  hold  them  in  favor  as  a  marketable  stock 
carrot,  but  the  large  size  and  greater  crop  of  the  White  Belgian 
makes  it  a  favorite  where  the  crop  is  to  be  fed  at  home.  This  va- 
riety is  grown  in  all  California  dairy  regions.  It  sometimes  reaches 
a  weight  of  sixteen  pounds  or  more  and  a  yield  of  over  forty  tons 
to  the  acre  on  rich,  deep  land,  though  half  of  these  figures  would 
better  suit  average  conditions.  The  Danvers  Half  Long,  in  addi- 
tion to  being  a  good  garden  carrot,  is  largely  grown  for  stock.  Long 
Orange  is  valuable  on  light  soils  where  digging  is  easy. 

Garden  Carrots. — As  already  stated  garden  carrots  should  be 
grown  quickly  with  acceptable  heat  and  moisture.  Simple  forcing 
conditions,  like  a  bed  of  five  or  six  inches  of  good  loam  over  a  foot 
or  more  of  tamped  manure  and  a  slight  protective  covering  will 
give  very  sweet  and  tender  roots  to  the  short  varieties  in  our  cold- 
est weather.  But  so  much  can  be  done  with  the  ridge  system  or 
with  raised  beds  described  in  a  previous  chapter  and  with  other 
simple  modifications  of  open-air  conditions  that  very  little  forcing 
is  done. 

Country  gardeners,  as  a  rule,  do  not  know  much  about  the  best 
table  carrots.  They  supply  their  tables  and  their  stock  too  often 
from  the  same  sowing  when  much  sweeter  and  tenderer  roots  should 
be  grown  in  the  garden  by  small  sowings  of  the  improved  table 
varieties.  Those  which  are  most  grown  in  California  are  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Early  French  forcing  carrot:    very  early,  small  and  fine  flavor. 

Ox-heart  or  Guerande :  very  short,  almost  cup-shaped,  very  rapid  grower, 
early  and  excellent;  does  better  on  heavy  soils  than  the  longer  rooted  kinds. 

Half  Long  Danvers:  a  popular  market  variety,  strong  grower  and  suc- 
ceeding on  a  wide  range  of  soils ;  rich  color  and  good  flavor. 

Improved  Long  Orange :  smoother  and  more  uniform  than  the  old  sort ; 
also  better  flavor  and  color. 

Chantenay:    short  and  sturdy,  bright  orange-scarlet,  early. 

Improved  Short  White :   best  of  the  whites,  short  and  cylindrical. 

Red  St.  Valery :   one  of  the  best  of  the  medium  long  varieties. 

Early  Scarlet  or  Short  Horn :   largely  grown  and  of  good  quality. 

THE  PARSNIP. 

Parsnips  are  not  largely  grown  in  California.  Two  considera- 
tions may  be  involved  in  an  explanation  of  this  fact:  one  is  that 
our  winter  supply  of  fresher  vegetables  relieves  us  from  dependence 
upon  root-boiling,  which  is  the  staple  resource  of  so  many  dwellers 
in  cold  climates ;  another  is,  that  the  parsnip,  if  sown  early,  is  not 
always  content  to  remain  dormant  and  crisp  for  months  as  it  does 
beneath  the  snow.  It  quickly  responds  to  our  winter  warmth  and 


PARSNIPS    AND   SALSIFY 


175 


moisture  and  starts  second  growth,  which  renders  the  root  woody 
and  flavorless.  It  is  quite  possible  for  parsnip  lovers  in  warm,  moist 
regions  to  overcome  this  by  mid-summer  sowing  or  it  can  be  pre- 
vented in  other  places  by  digging  the  roots  and  storing  them  in  boxes 
or  barrels  of  sand  in  a  dry,  cool  place,  and  it  really  should  be  urged 
that  this  be  done  more  widely,  because  those  who  are  not  fitted  by 
location  or  inclination  to  start  fall  growth  of  vegetables  for  winter 
eating,  should  have  a  good  supply  of  parsnips,  which  are,  to  most 
tastes,  delicious.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  in  this  climate  that  the 
parsnip  will  be  called  upon  to  render  the  important  service  that  it 
does  in  the  East  whenever  the  snow  uncovers  the  ground  in  the 
winter  or  spring,  because  at  that  very  time  we  have  abundance  of 
fresh  vegetables  hardy  in  our  climate. 

Soil  and  Culture. — The  excellence  of  the  parsnip  is  vested  in 
a  well-developed  root,  and  to  secure  this  rich,  deep,  and  permeable 
soil  and  adequate  moisture  are  required.  Deep  cultivation  and 
manuring  will  secure  these  qualities  even  in  rather  a  heavy  soil. 
Parsnip  seed  is  light  and  should  receive  a  shallow  covering  but  it  is 
necessary  that  it  should  be  well  firmed  in  moist  soil  to  secure  ger- 
mination. As  soon  as  the  plants  are  two  or  three  inches  high  the 
rows  should  be  cleaned  of  weeds,  the  plants  spaced,  and  frequent 
use  of  the  cultivator  begun,  to  continue  all  summer.  The  sugges- 
tions made  for  the  preparation  of  soil  and  cultivation  of  the  beet 
and  the  carrot  have  direct  application  to  the  growth  of  the  parsnip, 
and  the  reader  is  referred  to  them. 

In  the  rainy  parts  of  the  state  it  is  customary  to  sow  parsnips 
as  soon  as  the  ground  is  in  good  condition  in  February,  as  the  plant 
is  quite  hardy.  From  this  date  onward  the  seed  can  be  successfully 
sown  as  long  as  the  soil  has  moisture  enough,  and  in  moist  interior 
lands  seed  can  be  sown  in  July,  or  even  later,  and  the  plants  will 
make  a  good  fall  growth  and  be  ready  for  winter  use  from  the 
ground,  as  late  sowing  in  a  warm  region  with  moisture  assured, 
carries  the  plant  along  without  danger  of  a  check  and  a  second 
growth. 

Varieties. — These  varieties  of  parsnips  prevail  in  this  state : 

Hollow  Crown  or  Student:  long,  large,  smooth  roots  in  deep 
soils;  tender,  sweet,  and  fine  flavored  when  well  grown.  This  is 
the  chiefly  grown  variety. 

Improved  Guernsey :  half-long,  shorter  and  thicker  than  the 
foregoing. 

Devonshire:  another  short  variety  popular  with  market  gar- 
deners in  southern  California. 

Round  or  Turnip  Rooted :  better  suited  for  shallow  soils,  owing 
to  shape ;  develops  faster  than  the  long  type. 


SALSIFY. 


This  delicious  root  stands  subject  to  the  same  conditions  which 
have  limited  the  growth  of  parsnips  in  this  state,  but  its  popularity 


176  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

has  increased  greatly  during  the  last  few  years.  The  requirements 
of  the  plant  in  soil,  culture,  and  season  correspond  very  closely  to 
the  parsnip,  and  it  is  taken  from  the  ground  all  through  the  autumn 
and  winter  as  parsnips  are  in  California.  The  seed  is  a  little  more 
difficult  to  start,  and  pretty  generous  seeding  in  soil  sure  to  retain 
fair  moisture,  and  a  slightly  deeper  covering  than  with  parsnip  seed 
are  desirable.  Thinning  is  essential  but  the  root  is  slimmer  and 
does  not  require  so  much  room.  One  variety  prevails  in  local 
interest,  the  Mammoth  Sandwich  Island.  It  is  large  and  otherwise 
better  than  the  older  kinds,  although  the  Long  White  is  still  grown. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 
CELERY. 

CELERY. — Apium  graveolens. 

French,  celeri;  German,  sellerie;  Danish,  seller!;   Italian,  sedano  apio; 
Spanish,  apio. 

CELERI  AC. — Idem . 

French,  celeri- rave ;  German,  knoll-sellerie ;  Dutch,  knoll-selderij ;  Danish, 
knold-selleri ;  Italian,  sedano-rapa;  Spanish,  apio-nabo. 

California  celery  taken  from  the  field  during  the  winter  months 
and  delivered  in  the  eastern  markets  by  frost-proof  cars  has,  during 
the  last  few  years,  made  decided  progress  in  competition  with  the 
eastern  product  taken  from  frost-proof  storage  in  pits,  or  specially- 
constructed  celery  houses.  On  certain  well-suited  soils  in  regions 
subject  to  coast  influences  and,  therefore,  with  moderated  summer 
temperature,  the  celery  plant  makes  a  grand  summer  growth,  with 
or  without  irrigation,  according  to  the  natural  moisture  of  the  soil, 
and  encounters  no  fall  or  winter  temperature  which  injures  it  in 
the  open  field.  In  fact,  in  these  special  localities  and  soils,  which 
will  be  described  presently,  the  plant  finds  naturally  provided  those 
conditions  for  splendid  development  which  in  less  favored  regions, 
can  only  be  secured  by  considerable  artifice  and  investment.  For 
these  reasons  commercial  celery  growing  for  distant  markets  be- 
came a  considerable  industry,  giving  great  value  to  lands  suited  to 
its  uses,  and  reaching  a  product  valued  in  1916  at  a  million  dollars. 
Annual  shipments  are  about  3000  carloads,  of  which  about  three- 
fourths  are  produced  in  the  delta  region  of  the  Sacramento  and  San 
Joaquin  rivers  and  on  lowlands  near  Sacramento,  and  one-fourth 
in  Los  Angeles  and  Orange  counties. 

In  many  parts  of  the  state,  especially  on  low,  moist  lands  which 
are  frequently  of  saline  character,  wild  celery  grows  thriftily,  and 
its  growth  has  served  as  an  incentive  to  commercial  planting.  This 
wild  celery  is,  however,  not  a  native  plant.  It  is  merely  the  garden 
celery  which  has  escaped  from  cultivation  and  the  escape  must  have 
been  at  an  early  date,  for  the  occurrence  was  noted  by  botanists  at 
least  thirty  years  ago.  It  is  now  widely  distributed. 

Locations  for  Celery. — Celery  thrives  best  in  an  equable,  cool 
temperature,  but  it  accepts  conditions  in  the  "cool  night"  districts 
on  the  lower  lands  of  the  interior  valley.  It  does  not  well  endure 
high  heat;  it  is  hardy  against  California  valley  frosts,  and  it  de- 
mands adequate  moisture.  It  is,  therefore,  successfully  grown  in 
the  fall  and  winter  in  regions  where  summer  heat  is  too  high,  and 
in  the  equable  coast  climate  it  can  be  enjoyed  all  the  year,  provid- 
ing ample  soil  moisture  can  be  assured.  Commercially,  it  is  summer 

[177] 


178  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

grown  for  winter  shipment  because  it  is  then  best  received  in  the 
eastern  markets. 

Soils. — Aside  from  abundant  moisture  the  chief  requirement 
of  the  plant  is  large  amounts  of  decomposed  vegetable  matter  in  the 
soil.  This  is  provided  in  ordinary  garden  soils  by  the  free  use  of 
well-rotted  manure,  mixing  it  thoroughly  with  the  soil  by  deep  dig- 
ging in  or  trenching,  and  for  home  supplies  this  should  be  under- 
taken, but  those  who  can,  may  avail  themselves  of  the  conclusions 
of  a  grower  at  Castroville,  near  the  coast  in  Monterey  county,  who, 
after  trying  for  a  number  of  years,  almost  in  vain,  to  raise  good 
celery  on  an  ordinary  dry  garden  soil,  finally  borrowed  the  use  of 
a  little  patch  of  reclaimed  swamp  land — deep,  black  muck,  well 
drained  but  moist — and  grew  on  it  very  fine  celery  with  but  little 
labor.  In  undertaking  production  on  a  commercial  scale  this  ad- 
vantage of  specially  suited  soil  is  imperative.  An  instance  of  such 
soil-fitness  is  found  in  the  peat  lands  of  the  river  deltas  of  southern 
and  central  California,  where  celery  growing  has  reached  the  im- 
portance above  noted.  The  soil  largely  consists  of  decomposed  vege- 
table matter  and  becomes,  on  cultivation,  fine  and  homogeneous.  It 
is  different  from  the  partially-decomposed  and  coarse  material  of 
the  tule  swamps.  It  occurs  in  Orange  county  in  deposits  of  varying 
thickness  and  sandwiched  with  layers  of  sediment  or  clay,  the  peat 
layers  being,  however,  connected  through  the  dense  layers  by  tubes 
through  which  the  water  rises  in  springs  and  sub-irrigates  the  sur- 
face layer.  This  surface  is  treacherous.  Much  of  it  will  only  sup- 
port horses  when  shod  with  plank  and  some  cannot  be  traversed 
with  animals  and  is  worked  by  drawing  tools  back  and  forth  with 
cables  from  firm  headlands  on  each  side.  Still  it  is  so  productive 
of  celery  that  such  bottomless  land  has  been  rented  as  high  as 
twenty  dollars  per  acre  per  year. 

In  addition  to  the  peat  lands  celery  is  also  successfully  grown 
on  light  sandy  loams  and  on  river  sediments.  The  lightness  of  the 
soil  is  directly  involved  in  the  blanching,  which  will  be  noted  later. 

Heavy  fertilization  is  often  very  desirable  for  celery,  especially 
on  the  lands  last  mentioned.  Instances  are  given  in  which  nitrate 
of  soda  was  used  at  the  rate  of  675  Ibs.  per  acre  after  the  crop  was 
growing  on  land  which  has  received  twenty  tons  of  stable  manure 
and  thirty  bushels  of  slacked  lime  per  acre.  In  this  case  it  is  also 
claimed  that  the  crop  was  ready  five  days  earlier  than  that  which 
received  no  nitrate. 

GARDEN    CULTURE    OF    CELERY. 

Celery  plants  are  grown  in  a  seed-bed  for  transplanting  to  per- 
manent place.  The  seed  is  very  small  and  very  slow  of  germination, 
and  success  depends  upon  maintaining  even  moisture  at  the  surface. 
For  starting  plants  in  winter  a  hot-bed  may  be  used,  but  high  heat 
is  neither  necessary  nor  desirable.  A  cold  frame  with  cloth  cover 
would  be  better.  But  it  is  quite  feasible  in  coast  valley  situations  to 


CELERY  IN  THE  GARDEN  179 

grow  the  plants  in  the  open  air  early  enough  in  the  spring  to  get 
the  crop  for  the  table  from  November  onward.  Simple  and  correct 
suggestions  for  garden  culture  are  given  by  Mr.  S.  J.  Murdock,  of 
Orange  county,  as  follows : 

It  requires  from  three  to  four  months  from  time  of  sowing  the  seed  till 
the  plants  are  large  enough  to  plant  out.  The  warmer  the  weather  the 
quicker  the  plants  will  grow,  and  the  warmer  and  drier  the  atmosphere  is, 
the  more  water  the  seed-bed  will  need.  Select  rich,  friable  soil  and  sow  the 
seed  evenly  and  only  moderately  thick.  Cover  the  seed  but  lightly,  as  they 
are  very  small,  and  firm  the  soil  well.  Keep  the  soil  or  bed  moist,  not  soak- 
ing wet,  but  never  dry,  and  have  patience  as  they  are  slow  to  germinate. 
Keep  free  from  weeds  and  thin  if  too  thick;  one  plant  to  the  square  inch  is 
about  right.  When  the  plants  get  about  three  inches  high,  clip  the  tops  off, 
not  too  close,  but  about  half  way,  and  continue  to  keep  the  bed  moist,  and 
when  about  four  inches  high  clip  again,  and  they  will  be  ready  to  plant. 

In  about  a  week  or  ten  days  after  clipping  lift  the  plants  with  a  shovel  or 
garden  trowel  so  as  not  to  disturb  the  fine  roots  more  than  is  necessary. 
Trim  the  main  or  taproot  to  two  or  three  inches  and  keep  the  roots  moist 
until  planted.  Select  a  good,  rich  plat  where  water  is  handy,  as  the  ground 
should  be  as  moist  as  possible  to  work,  and  draw  shallow  furrows,  say  about 
four  inches  below  the  level,  and  put  the  plants  six  inches  apart  in  the  row. 
I  would  prefer  a  single  row  of  sufficient  length  to  two  or  more  shorter  ones. 

Take  a  hardwood  peg,  about  one  and  a  quarter  inches  in  diameter  and 
six  inches  long;  sharpen  one  end  to  make  the  holes  for  the  plants.  Put  the 
roots  straight,  and  be  sure  and  firm  the  soil  well  around  each  plant. 

Stir  the  ground  around  the  plants  and  keep  the  soil  away  instead  of  up 
to  them  till  the  plants  get  twelve  or  fourteen  inches  high,  then  work  the  soil 
to  the  plants  (but  only  when  they  are  dry)  and  keep  the  roots  moist.  If 
in  the  interior  valleys,  it  is  better  to  blanch  it  with  boards  than  by  banking 
with  the  earth.  Blanch  by  setting  twelve-inch  boards  on  edge  on  each  side 
of  the  row  and  secure  them  with  stakes  stuck  in  the  ground  and  tied  at  the 
top,  or  some  dirt  thrown  against  the  bottom  of  the  boards  and  the  tops  held 
together  with  notched  strips.  It  requires  from  two  to  three  weeks  to  blanch 
the  White  Plume  and  longer  for  the  green  sorts.  One  set  of  boards  will 
blanch  two  or  three  lengths,  as  they  can  be  moved  along  the  row  as  the 
celery  is  used.  Never  bank  or  board  it  when  wet,  and  be  sure  to  have  both 
bank  and  boards  close  enough  at  the  top  so  that  the  leaves  will  shed  the  rain 
to  the  outside. 

Blanching  may  be  also  done  in  garden  culture  by  the  use  of 
drain  tiles  or  by  wrapping  the  plants  in  pieces  of  sacking.  Any  ar- 
rangement which  excludes  light  and  water  from  the  stems  will 
accomplish  the  desired  results. 

FIELD  CULTURE  OF  CELERY. 

Field  culure  of  celery  on  the  very  friable  peat  lands  which 
have  been  described  has  developed  appliances  and  processes  which 
are  very  effective  and  satisfactory,  and  cheapen  production  to  an 
extent  not  attainable  except  on  very  friable  soils.  Still  the  prac- 
tices inculcate  the  ends  to  be  attained  in  all  cases,  though  the  means 
may  differ.  Mr.  S.  J.  Murdock  has  given  a  very  explicit  descrip- 
tion of  the  methods  he  has  found  most  satisfactory  in  his  experience, 
from  which  the  following  is  largely  compiled. 


180  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

The  Seed-bed. — A  seed-bed  which  is  naturally  moist  or  which 
can  be  sub-irrigated  is  preferable,  although  the  raised  bed  with  irri- 
gation by  seepage,  or  other  arrangement  for  maintaining  moisture 
may  be  used.  The  soil  must  be  light  and  free  from  baking.  The 
seed-bed  should  be  plowed  by  the  middle  of  December  and  left 
rough  for  the  action  of  frosts  and  rains,  and  about  two  weeks  be- 
fore sowing,  harrow  down  and  thoroughly  hand  rake.  Let  it  lie  till 
seed-time,  which  is  during  March,  April  and  May,  as  to  season  or 
early  or  late  planting.  The  early-sown  seed  requires  longer  time 
to  make  plants  large  enough  for  planting,  but  if  planted  moder- 
ately thick  and  well  cared  for,  makes  strong,  sturdy  plants.  Plant- 
ing earlier  than  February  is,  however,  undesirable  as  the  plants  are 
apt  to  go  to  seed  after  planting  out. 

At  planting  rake  the  surface  thoroughly  again  with  a  sharp, 
close-toothed  rake  and  either  drill  or  sow  seed  broadcast.  The  drill 
is  preferable  but  if  broadcast  lightly  rake  the  seed  in  and  either 
roll  or  firm  the  soil  thoroughly,  as  there  is  much  seed  lost  by  neg- 
lecting this  part.  The  seed-beds  are  generally  made  from  four  to 
six  feet  wide,  leaving  room  between  each  bed  to  weed  and  clip  them, 
which  constitutes  the  after  care  except  to  keep  them  moist.  Keep 
as  free  from  weeds  as  possible,  and  when  the  plants  get  about  three 
inches  high,  clip  the  tops  about  half  way  down,  and  when  they  get 
three  or  four  inches  high,  if  not  ready  to  plant,  clip  again,  as  the 
keeping  of  tops  back  makes  the  plants  better  for  transplanting. 

Irrigation  is  often  used  to  start  the  plants  strongly  at  first,  but 
subsequent  growth  is  secured  by  very  sparing  use  of  water  if  pos- 
sible. Standing  water  among  the  young  plants  should  not  be  al- 
lowed. It  is  usually  counted  that  one  acre  of  seed-bed  will  furnish 
plants  for  twenty  acres  of  planting  out. 

Planting  in  the  Feld. — The  land  should  be  thoroughly  cleaned 
of  trash  and  given  early  and  thorough  preparation  as  will  be  de- 
scribed in  the  chapter  on  corn.  In  Orange  county  planting  in  the 
early  part  of  June  brings  the  crop  for  Thanksgiving  and  in  July  for 
the  holidays  and  later.  In  the  Stockton  district  experience  has 
favored  planting  out  not  later  than  June  in  order  to  bring  the  crop 
out  of  the  field  before  the  heavy  rains  and  frosts  of  the  lowlands 
in  the  early  winter,  which  have  previously  occasioned  some  heavy 
losses. 

Laying  off  for  planting  may  be  done  by  taking  off  all  but  the 
three  inside  discs  of  a  disc  harrow,  attaching  a  shovel  plow  in  the 
middle  and  close  behind  the  harrow,  and  following  this  with  a  five 
or  six-foot  roller  with  a  raised  belt  around  the  center,  which  runs 
in  the  plow  furrow  and  forms  a  compact  trench  about  six  inches 
deep.  Three  and  one-half  or  four  feet  is  the  usual  distance  between 
the  trenches,  and  the  plants  are  set  six  inches  apart  in  the  bottom 
of  the  trench. 

A  full  crew  of  planters  is  ten  men ;  one  to  lay  out  the  furrows, 
one  spacer  or  marker,  who  has  an  implement  which  makes  from 


FIELD   CULTURE  OF  CELERY  181 

four  to  twelve  holes  at  a  time,  depending  on  the  size  of  tool  used. 
There  are  also  four  planters  and  four  plant  pullers.  It  is  the  duty 
of  the  first  man  to  draw  the  furrows  as  straight  and  as  near  equi- 
distant as  possible,  give  general  supervision  of  the  planting  and  see 
that  the  pullers  use  judgment  in  preparing  the  plants.  Unless  the 
plants  have  been  recently  clipped  in  the  bed,  both  tops  and  roots 
need  clipping  when  pulled,  so  as  to  leave  the  main  or  taproot  about 
two  and  one-half  or  three  inches  long,  and  the  tops  clipped  of  the 
surplus  leaves.  They  are  usually  put  in  large-sized  milk  cans,  the 
roots  kept  wet  and  delivered  to  the  planters  in  the  pans.  The  spacer 
makes  the  holes  for  the  plants  just  ahead  of  the  planter.  Both  the 
furrows  and  holes  for  plants  should  be  freshly  made  so  as  to  have 
no  dry  dirt  to  hinder  the  planters,  who  should  be  careful  and  pains- 
taking, as  the  plants  need  to  be  put  in  the  proper  depth,  the  roots 
straight  and  the  soil  well  firmed  around  each  plant  and  no  unfilled 
space  beneath  the  plant  to  dry  out.  A  crew  should  plant  from  an 
acre  to  an  acre  and  a  half  per  day,  according  to  the  condition  of  the 
land  and  the  proper  oversight  of  the  force.  This  mode  of  planting 
leaves  the  plants  from  four  to  six  inches  below  the  general  level. 

Crowding. — The  next  operation  is  called  crowding,  which  is 
done  by  a  tool  made  as  follows :  Take  a  common  iron  or  steel  culti- 
vator, take  the  standards  and  shovels  all  off,  then  take  two  pieces 
of  steel  one-fourth  of  an  inch  thick,  six  inches  wide  and  four  feet 
long.  Sharpen  one  edge  of  each  piece  and  bolt  to  the  outside  frames 
of  the  cultivator  so  that  the  tops  of  the  steel  bars  are  about  even 
with  the  top  of  the  frame  and  on  top  of  the  rear  half  of  each,  add 
eight  or  ten  iches  of  heavy  sheet  iron.  The  front  of  these  blades 
should  be  from  five  to  six  inches  apart  and  the  rear  about  thirty 
inches.  In  a  week  or  ten  days  after  planting,  hitch  two  steady 
horses  to  this  tool  and  crowd  the  dirt  away  from  each  side  of  the 
rows.  This  kills  the  new  weeds  just  starting  and  covers  up  all 
in  the  middle  of  the  rows  and  leaves  a  ridge  of  loose  soil.  Follow 
this  by  going  over  each  row  and  filling  in  all  the  missing  plants  with 
strong  vigorous  ones  and  uncover  any  plants  covered  by  clods  or 
loose  dirt;  then  take  a  light,  narrow  hoe  and  draw  between  each 
plant.  When  plants  get  larger,  work  the  soil  back  to  them  to  pre- 
vent spreading.  Keep  well  tilled,  and  soil  moist  by  irrigation  if 
necessary. 

Rolling. — The  handling  of  the  soil  after  "crowding"  is  described 
by  Stanley  S.  Rogers  in  this  way:  The  earth  between  the  rows  of 
plants  is  left  in  a  ridge  after  the  plants  have  been  "crowded."  A 
large  wooden  roller  which  extends  across  several  rows  is  now  used 
to  flatten  down  these  ridges  and  pack  to  soil  more  firmly.  The 
roller  is  used  only  when  the  plants  are  small,  otherwise  they  would 
be  injured  by  being  crushed.  When  the  plants  have  grown  suf- 
ficiently to  be  injured  by  this  rolling  of  the  middles,  the  ridges  are 
smoothed  down  by  the  cultivator. 


182  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Splitting. — When  the  plants  are  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  tall, 
earth  from  between  the  rows  is  drawn  up  to  them.  This  is  termed 
"splitting."  This  should  be  done  carefully,  for,  if  the  earth  is  put 
too  close  or  too  high  up  on  the  plants,  they  will  become  tender  and 
weak,  especially  if  the  weather  is  hot.  The  object  of  "splitting"  is 
to  gradually  encourage  the  plants  to  grow  tall  and  straight  instead 
of  spreading  out.  This  operation  is  repeated  twice  during  the  sea- 
son, the  first  time  when  the  plants  are  fourteen  to  sixteen  inches 
tajl  and  the  second  time  just  before  banking.  This  last  "splitting" 
also  aids  blanching. 

Blanching. — There  is  in  market  gardens  some  blanching  with 
boards  set  on  edge  on  each  side  of  the  rows  secured  by  stakes  made 
of  lath  stuck  in  the  ground  and  tied  together  at  the  top,  but  in  large 
field  growth  it  is  done  by  banking  the  soil  up  to  the  plants.  This  is 
done  by  a  machine  made  the  reverse  of  the  crowder  described  for 
first  use  and  much  larger  and  heavier.  It  is  used  with  wide  end 
forward,  which  draws  and  crowds  the  loose  earth  up  to  the  plants. 
Blanching  is  done  when  the  celery  is  reaching  its  maturity  and  is 
nearly  ready  for  shipment.  This  is  the  last  field  operation  before 
the  crop  is  cut.  When  the  celery  is  banked  for  the  first  time  the 
earth  is  not  drawn  very  high  on  the  plants,  but  each  time  the  field 
is  banked  the  soil  is  drawn  higher  so  as  to  firmly  hold  the  leaves 
together  and  in  an  upright  position.  If  celery  that  has  been  banked 
for  the  last  time  is  not  harvested  shortly,  it  will  soon  become 
"punky."  The  length  of  time  that  it  can  safely  be  left  in  the  bank 
depends  upon  the  character  of  the  soil,  the  weather  conditions,  and 
upon  the  condition  of  the  plants  themselves.  Celery  on  sandy  soil 
will  keep  much  longer  in  the  bank  than  on  adobe  or  peat  soil.  If 
the  celery  has  not  matured  or  if  the  weather  is  hot  or  moist  its 
keeping  quality  will  be  injured.  Holding  too  long  in  the  bank  will 
result  in  a  wilted  and  "punky"  product. 

Harvesting. — Although  in  small  areas  the  plants  are  cut-under 
with  long  knives,  shovels  or  other  hand  tools,  on  large  fields  the 
harvesting  is  done  with  a  "U"  shaped  cutter  attached  to  an  old 
sulky  plow  frame,  which  straddles  the  rows  of  banked  celery,  cut- 
ting off  the  roots  and  raising  the  plants  in  the  loose  soil.  This  is 
followed  by  the  trimmers,  who  lift  the  plants,  trim  off  the  outer 
stalks  and  square  the  roots.  It  is  now  ready  to  tie  in  bunches 
or  crate. 

Marketing. — Celery  is  shipped  in  crates,  22x25  in.  base,  which 
holds  six  to  eight  dozen  of  celery,  according  to  size.  An  average 
crate  will  weigh  about  145  pounds,  and  160  crates  make  an  average 
carload.  Some  eastern  dealers  prefer  the  celery  shipped  in  bulk 
or  on  decks  built  in  the  car.  This  is  a  much  cheaper  way  to  ship, 
and  is  claimed  by  some  to  be  just  as  safe.  In  shipping  in  this  way, 
three  decks  are  built  in  the  car,  and  the  celery  is  tied  in  bunches 
of  one  dozen  each  and  stood  upright  with  roots  resting  on  the  decks. 
By  this  method  three  or  four  hundred  dozen  more  celery  can  be 


VARIETIES  OF   CELERY  183 

packed  in  a  car.  Celery  is  shipped  to  all  the  principal  cities  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada,  and  carries  successfully. 

The  Yield.— An  estimated  yield  per  acre  is  about  1200  dozen 
bunches,  which  may  be  worth  $300  gross.  The  average  cost  of 
growing  the  crop  is  placed  at  from  $60  to  $100  per  acre. 

Varieties. — Formerly  the  White  Plume  was  the  chief  variety 
grown  for  shipment,  but  it  is  now  chiefly  used  where  an  early  crop 
is  particularly  desired.  The  Golden  Self-blanching  is  now  chiefly 
grown,  especially  for  eastern  shipment  and  California  seedsmen 
offer  improved  strains  Green  Top.  It  will  be  well  for  home  grow- 
ers to  try  also  some  of  the  higher  quality  varieties  offered  by  the 
seedsmen  when  they  are  ready  to  take  particular  pains  to  grow  them 
well.  Such  varieties  are  Columbia,  White  Globe,  Giant  Pascal  and 
Winter  Queen.  These  varieties  are  popular  with  market  gardeners. 

Celery  Blight. — Occasionally  atmospheric  conditions  favor  the 
growth  of  a  leaf  fungus  known  as  celery  blight,  and  great  losses 
have  resulted  in  some  years.  Recent  experience  shows  that  the 
blight  is  subject  to  control  by  spraying  the  plants  with  the  Bordeaux 
mixture,  as  described  in  Chapter  XXXVIII,  as  soon  as  signs  of  the 
incroachment  of  the  disease  appear,  or  when  weather  conditions  in- 
dicate the  danger  to  be  imminent.  Special  publications  on  this  sub- 
ject can  be  had  from  the  University  Experiment  Station  at  Berkeley. 

CELERIAC. 

The  turnip-rooted  celery  is  very  desirable  for  cooking  and  salad 
purposes.  It  is  grown  in  nearly  the  same  way  as  ordinary  celery 
except  that  it  is  allowed  to  make  free  top  growth  without  blanching, 
as  the  root  is  the  edible  part.  The  Large  or  Giant  Smooth  Prague 
is  the  variety  chiefly  grown. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 
CHICORY  AND  ENDIVE. 

LARGE  ROOTED  CHICORY. — Cichorium  intybus. 

French,   chicoree   sauvage ;   German,  cichorie ;   Danish,   sichorie ;   Italian, 
cicoria;  Spanish,  achicoria;  Portuguese,  chicoria. 

THE  ENDIVE. — Chicoria  endivia. 

French,   chicoree   endive;    German,   endivien;    Dutch,   andijvie;    Danish, 
endivien;  Italian,  indivia;  Spanish,  endivia. 

The  chicory  plant  cuts  no  figure  at  present  in  the  general  gar- 
dening of  Californians.  The  use  of  the  blanched  leaves,  forced  in 
the  dark  from  mature  roots  bedded  in  sand,  is  confined  to  a  few 
foreigners  who  know  the  barbe-de-capucin  of  the  French  or  the 
witloof  of  the  Germans.  It  is  a  delicious  vegetable,  either  raw, 
boiled,  or  as  a  salad.  Nor  are  the  leaves  in  their  natural  state  much 
used  here  for  salad.  Both  of  these  uses  of  the  plant  should  be  more 
widely  known  in  California,  for  the  cultivated  growth  of  the  roots 
in  this  state  is  very  fine,  and  for  running  wild,  as  an  escape  from 
flower  garden  culture,  it  might  be  denounced  as  a  vile  weed  were 
not  its  large  blue  flowers  so  beautiful  upon  the  yellow  of  our  dry 
summer  fields  and  roadsides. 

Viewing  the  plant  as  yielding  a  root  rather  than  a  foliage  crop, 
it  has  been  of  much  importance  in  this  state.  The  root,  sliced, 
dried,  roasted  and  coarsely  ground,  is  the  "chicory"  of  commerce — 
the  adulterant  of  coffee  which  nearly  every  one  denounces  in  theory 
and  many  enjoy  in  practice;  for  the  occurrence  of  absolutely  pure 
coffee  is  so  restricted  that  it  often,  at  first,  offends  the  palate  of  the 
unaccustomed  drinker.  California  chicory  growers  for  years  con- 
tested the  American  markets  with  German  chicory,  and  a  very  ca- 
pacious factory  was  in  operation  near  Stockton  for  more  than 
twenty-five  years,  and  at  one  time  there  was  another  near  Sacra- 
mento. The  vicissitudes  of  tariff  legislation  have  made  the  busi- 
ness uncertain,  sometimes  very  profitable,  sometimes  not,  according 
as  the  German  product  entered  free  or  paid  duty.  If  the  tariff 
would  maintain  a  favorable  attitude,  California  could  furnish  cheap 
coffee  for  the  whole  country  and  beet-sugar  for  its  sweetening  be- 
sides. For  the  last  few  years,  however,  the  business  has  been  much 
reduced  and  depressed.  For  the  home-grower  of  coffee  counterfeits, 
the  chicory  plant  offers  a  better  material  than  the  "coffee  bean" 
and  other  substitutes  which  are  offered,  but  all  substitutes  have  had 
a  hard  road  under  the  pure  food  laws.  The  growth  of  the  plant 
and  its  preparation  for  the  breakfast  table  are  quite  simple. 

Chicory  grows  to  prefection  on  light  sedimentary  soils  which 
afford  the  root  opportunity  for  expansion,  and  retain  moisture 

[184] 


WAYS  TO  HANDLE  CHICORY  185 

enough  for  its  thrift  during  the  long,  dry  summer.  The  plant  is 
hardy  and  the  seed  is  usually  sown  in  February.  The  preparation 
of  the  soil,  sowing,  thinning,  weeding  and  cultivation,  are  identical 
with  the  same  operations  for  the  sugar  beet  already  described.  The 
expense  with  chicory  is,  at  present  at  least,  considerably  greater  than 
with  the  beets,  because  the  moist  land  which  is  used  gives  more  per- 
sistent weed  growth  and  occasions  an  amount  of  hard  work  which 
is  appalling  to  an  observer.  The  crop  partly  compensates  for  this 
outlay,  because  the  value  per  ton  is  twice  as  great  as  the  sugar  beet, 
and  the  crop  is  not  enough  less  in  weight  to  equalize  things.  The 
average  crop  on  Roberts  island  near  Stockton  in  favorable  years  is 
about  ten  tons  to  the  acre,  though  some  years  the  average  will  go 
to  twelve  and  the  best  crops  to  fifteen  tons  per  acre.  The  factory 
price  for  the  fresh  root  has  usually  been  $10  per  ton.  The  cost  of 
growing,  including  rent,  ranges  from  $50  to  $80  per  acre.  The  soil 
on  Roberts  island  is  a  mixture  of  sediment  and  peat — deep,  rich, 
light  and  moist;  most  admirably  adapted  to  the  root. 

Harvesting  and  Curing. — From  seed  sown  in  February,  har- 
vesting continues  from  the  middle  of  August  to" the  middle  of  Octo- 
ber. Early  gathering  is  necessary,  as  sun-dried  chicory  is  better 
than  that  cured  by  artificial  heat.  When  ready  for  gathering  a  plow 
is  run  along  each  side  of  the  plants  with  subsoil  cutter  and  lifter 
attached,  which  loosens  the  roots  so  that  they  can  be  easily  lifted 
from  the  soil  by  the  hand  clean  and  ready  for  the  cutting  machine. 
This  operation  is  like  the  gathering  of  sugar  beets,  and  the  topping 
or  removal  of  the  leaves  is  the  same. 

When  they  reach  the  factory  the  roots  are  placed  in  the  ma- 
chine, which  cuts  them  into  cubic  blocks  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in 
size.  The  drying  platform  comes  in  use  next,  and  when  the  chicory 
has  been  dried  as  far  as  sun  power  will  dry  it,  it  is  placed  in  the 
roasters,  each  holding  two  barrels,  where  it  is  roasted  as  coffee  is 
before  being  ground.  From  the  roasters  it  goes  to  the  mill,  where 
it  is  ground,  put  in  barrels,  and  thus  becomes  the  chicory  of 
commerce. 

The  preparation  of  chicory  for  home  use  is  a  very  simple  opera- 
tion and  can  be  done  with  ordinary  kitchen  appliances. 

The  variety  grown  is  the  "large-rooted  Magdeburg,"  with 
leaves  entire  and  upright. 

THE  ENDIVE. 

Though  botanically  a  chicory,  the  endive  in  its  uses  is  closely 
allied  with  lettuce  and  is  chiefly  useful  during  the  frosty  period  of 
the  year,  for  then  its  flavor  is  likely  to  be  better  than  that  of  lettuce, 
because  it  is  able  to  grow  more  rapidly  with  low  temperatures.  As, 
however,  there  is  so  much  of  California  which  does  favor  rapid 
winter  growth  of  lettuce  the  use  of  endive  is  correspondingly  re- 
stricted. Still  in  localities  with  heavy  rainfall  and  long  stretches  of 
chilly  winter  weather,  the  endive  will  give  good  supplies  of  salad 


186  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

material  and  should  be  better  known.  It  is  also  valuable  as  a  boiled 
vegetable  possessing  a  distinctive  flavor  which  is  generally  accept- 
able, and  used  in  this  latter  form  it  is  quite  a  valuable  addition  to 
such  plants  as  Swiss  Chard  and  Spinach. 

As  a  salad  plant  the  value  of  endive  depends  largely  upon  its 
being  properly  grown  and  thoroughly  well  blanched.  Blanching 
induces  delicacy  and  tenderness  of  eating  and  can  probably  be  best 
effected  by  bunching  up  the  leaves  and  tying  with  string  or  raffia, 
or  by  spreading  hay  or  straw  thickly  over  the  plants.  Some  care 
must  be  given  to  the  proper  blanching  of  the  plants,  for  unless  this 
is  successfully  accomplished  endive  is  not  likely  to  be  appreciated. 
Small  quantities  of  blanched  endives  are  brought  to  San  Francisco 
by  express  from  New  York,  where  its  importation  from  Belgium 
and  France  is  regularly  made.  It  comes  in  20  Ib.  baskets  and  is 
sold  in  San  Francisco  at  50  to  75  cents  per  pound.  European  gar- 
deners coming  to  California  have  tried  to  displace  this  importation 
with  a  product  locally  grown  in  European  ways  but  have  not  found 
the  undertaking  profitable. 

The  plant  is  easy  of  culture,  the  methods  being  essentially  those 
described  for  lettuce,  but  chiefly  sown  in  summer  and  early  fall  for 
use  in  the  rainy  season.  The  following  varieties  most  largely  use 
in  California: 

Green  curled:    very  curly,  midrib  whitish,  leaves  finely  divided. 

White  curled :  yellowish  green,  very  curly  and  attractive  looking. 

Escarole  or  Batavlan :  leaves  wider  and  thicker,  dull  green,  a  good  variety 
for  boiling. 

Staghorn :  strong-growing,  leaves  curly  but  less  finely  divided  and  thicker, 
also  good  for  cooking. 


CHAPTER     XX. 

CORN. 

SWEET  CORN. — Zea  mays. 

French,   mais    sucre;    German,   mais;    Dutch,   Turksche   tarwe;    Italian, 
grano  turco;  Spanish,  maiz;  Portuguese,  milho. 

California  cannot  claim  to  be  a  large  producer  of  corn,  though 
it  does  grow  large  corn  and  has  a  long  green  corn  season.  Of  the 
summer  grains  corn  is  produced  in  least  amount,  because  the  others 
can  make  winter  growth  and  corn  cannot,  and  they  mature  at  about 
the  time  when  corn  can  be  safely  planted.  They  pass  the  dry  sea- 
son in  the  sack  while  corn  has  to  endure  it  in  the  field  and  does  not 
take  kindly  to  it.  Dry  heat  puts  it  in  distress  which  irrigation  does 
not  wholly  relieve.  In  the  place  of  corn  on  the  interior  plains  im- 
proved varieties  of  sorghum  are  now  largely  grown  both  for  the 
grain  and  the  forage. 

But  while  this  is  true  there  are  regions  in  which  magnificent 
corn  is  grown.  These  are  usually  moist  lowlands  from  the  valleys 
north  of  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  southward  to  San  Diego;  near 
enough  to  the  coast  to  catch  something  of  atmospheric  humidity 
from  the  ocean,  and  still  with  summer  heat  enough  to  suit  this 
warmth-loving  plant.  There  are  also  great  corn  lands  in  the  river 
bottom  of  the  interior  valley,  where  the  drought  is  less  than  on 
the  plains,  and  in  the  low  moist  lands  of  the  foothill  and  mountain 
valleys  as  well.  In  all  these  places  and  where  similar  conditions  are 
produced  by  irrigation,  corn  reaches  great  dimensions. 

Of  course  corn  as  a  vegetable  is  somewhat  different  from  corn 
as  a  grain.  So  also  is  corn  as  a  green  forage  plant.  For  "roasting 
ears,"  and  for  green  forage,  ripening  conditions  are  not  essential, 
and  for  these  purposes  the  plant  can  be  carried  nearer  to  the  coast 
than  for  a  grain  crop,  and  in  the  warmer  regions  it  can  be  planted 
late  for  a  longer  succession  than  for  grain  if  moisture  enough  is 
provided.  It  is  not  uncommon,  therefore,  in  the  interior  to  have 
good  roasting  ears  at  Thanksgiving  or  even  in  December  at  eleva- 
tions or  in  other  places  where  early  frosts  are  seldom  known.  Thus 
corn  as  a  vegetable  is  California  is  a  greater  affair  than  corn  as  a 
grain.  It  would  have  even  a  greater  value  as  a  garden  plant  were 
it  not  for  the  ravages  of  the  ear-worm,  which  takes  its  full  share 
of  almost  every  ear  at  the  times  when  its  appetite  is  good. 

The  Corn  Ear-Worm. — The  ear-worm  is  the  larva  of  a  grayish 
or  brownish  moth  about  an  inch  long  (Chloridea  obsoleta)  and  is 
the  same  insect  as  the  cotton  boll-worm.  If  the  ears  get  into  con- 
dition to  receive  the  eggs  when  the  moth  is  ready  to  lay  them,  there 
is  thorough  infestation.  Sometimes  the  ears  get  too  far  advanced 

[187] 


188  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

and  early  sown  corn  largely  escapes  that  year,  and  sometimes  the 
ears  come  between  broods  of  the  moth  and,  in  that  case,  they  are 
relatively  free  from  injury.  With  garden  corn,  in  a  place  with  a 
long  frost-free  season,  the  suggestion  is  to  plant  corn  at  intervals 
in  the  hope  that  some  of  the  plantings  may  shoot  ears  at  wrong 
times  for  the  moth.  Generally  the  late  planted  corn  escapes,  or  is 
more  apt  to  escape  than  the  early  planted,  but  sometimes,  in  some 
places,  the  opposite  is  true. 

When  sweet  corn  begins  to  silk,  C.  E.  Trapp,  of  Los  Angeles, 
irrigates  thoroughly  and  keeps  the  ground  moist  till  all  the  corn  is 
picked.  This  fills  out  the  kernels  and  rushes  the  corn  so  fast  that 
the  majority  of  worms  which  hatch  in  the  silks,  will  not  have  time 
to  work  their  way  far  down  the  ear.  He  has  observed  that  drier 
corn  in  fields  near  by  is  badly  spoiled  by  worms.  Robert  Haenggi 
encourages  the  blackbirds  which  he  has  observed  dilligently  seek- 
ing the  worms.  They  stand  on  the  ear,  seeming  to  listen,  and  then 
open  the  husk  directly  over  the  worm.  Blackbirds  are  also  to  be 
credited  with  saving  much  field  corn  from  the  corn  worms. 

Some  growers  choose  flint  varieties  of  field  corn  on  the  belief 
that  the  flint  hardens  earlier  in  summer  and  prevents  the  worms 
going  down  so  far  on  the  ear. 

In  1915  M.  L.  Germain,  of  Los  Angeles,  dusted  the  silk  of  the 
ears  as  soon  as  it  appeared  with  arsenate  of  lead  powder.  The  corn 
which  he  treated  was  fully  90  per  cent  clean  and  free  from  worms, 
while  that  portion  which  was  not  treated  was  fully  95  per  cent 
wormy. 

Soil. — The  requirements  of  Indian  corn  are  so  widely  known 
that  it  will  hardly  be  necessary  to  enter  minutely  into  them.  The 
soil  should  be  preferably  a  rich  loam,  sufficiently  retentive  of  moist- 
ure and  yet  easy  to  keep  in  fine  tilth.  Satisfactory  results  can,  how- 
ever, be  secured  on  quite  a  variety  of  soils  if  warmth  and  moisture 
can  be  assured.  In  the  heavier  soils  there  is  much  .advantage  in 
plowing  under  the  disintegrated  roots  of  previous  growths  of  weeds 
or  crop-plants  and  the  best  corn  often  comes  here  as  elsewhere  on 
newly-broken  land. 

Preparation  for  Corn. — As  the  corn  plant  resents  drought  so 
strenuously  it  is  very  important  that  preparation  of  the  land  should 
include  efforts  for  thorough  moistening  of  the  land  by  rainfall  or 
irrigation,  followed  by  surface  treatment  to  prevent  evaporation. 
All  that  has  been  urged  in  these  directions  in  the  chapter  on  culti- 
vation has  especial  pertinence  in  preparation  for  the  corn  crop.  It 
is  vain  to  expect  to  succeed  by  shallow  cultivation  except  where  the 
land  is  naturally  sub-irrigated,  and  even  on  such  land  there  must  be 
deep  working  enough  to  place  the  seed  below  the  dry  surface  layer. 
Slack  preparation  on  lands  which  naturally  dry  out  in  the  summer 
assures  failure  and  disappointment. 

Planting. — Corn  is  a  very  tender  plant  and  must  be  planted  not 
only  after  frosts  are  over,  but  after  the  soil  has  become  well  warmed 


GROWING  SWEET  CORN  189 

and  warmth  may  be  expected  to  continue.  The  date  of  planting 
must  be  determined  by  the  local  attainment  of  these  conditions.  From 
this  time  onward  through  the  summer,  planting  may  be  done  if 
moisture  enough  can  be  retained  in  the  soil.  For  this  reason,  on 
moist  or  irrigated  land,  corn  is  planted  after  winter-growing  crops 
are  cleared  away,  and  large  yields  are  secured.  Near  the  coast 
where  the  corn  plant  is  constantly  refreshed  by  ocean  moisture  in 
the  air,  it  will  make  good  green  growth  with  what  remains  from 
winter  rainfall  on  land  from  which  a  crop  of  beets  or  carrots,  sown 
the  previous  season,  has  been  cleared  away.  In  such  rotation  the 
land  should  be  plowed  as  early  as  possible  after  the  roots  have  been 
taken  off,  to  keep  down  the  growth  of  grass  and  weeds  and  retain 
moisture  till  the  proper  time  for  planting  corn,  which  will  depend 
a  good  deal  on  the  wetness  or  dryness  of  the  season.  The  earliness 
of  the  first  planting  will  depend  mainly  on  the  fitness  of  the  land 
and  the  situation,  but  for  early  use,  some  early  variety  of  sweet 
corn  should  be  planted  as  soon  as  circumstances  are  favorable  for 
doing  so,  to  be  followed  by  several  successive  plantings,  say  through 
May  and  June,  and  even  into  July.  In  suitable  situations  in  south- 
ern California  sweet  corn  is  planted  through  eight  months  of  the 
year;  as  early  as  February  1  in  the  Coachella  valley  and  as  late  as 
September  near  the  coast,  where  roasting  ears  are  expected  in  about 
seventy  days  from  planting  on  irrigated  land. 

Hill  or  Rows. — Growers  differ  as  to  the  advantages  of  growing 
in  hills  or  in  rows.  Hills  give  opportunity  to  cultivate  in  two  di- 
rections with  the  horse.  Rows  have  a  tendency  to  check  the  draft 
of  dry  winds  when  the  rows  run  at  right  angles  to  their  anticipated 
direction.  The  general  course  of  dry,  hot  summer  winds  is  from 
north  to  south  (except  where  given  a  different  trend  by  local  topog- 
raphy), consequently  east  and  west  rows  oppose  them  and  in  some 
measure  shade  the  soil  and  the  plant  better  from  sun  heat.  But 
when  prevailing  practice  shows  that  the  ground  in  the  row  usually 
goes  untouched  by  tools  and  consequently  becomes  hard  and  dry, 
it  is  quite  a  question  whether  the  separation  of  the  plants  into  hills 
for  free  cultivation  both  ways  is  not  on  the  whole  much  the  better 
method.  But  choice  may  be  governed  by  local  conditions.  Planting 
in  hills  at  3^  feet  square  takes  about  nine  pounds  of  seed  to  the 
acre. 

Laying  Off  and  Planting. — Distance  in  corn  planting  depends 
upon  the  habit  of  growth  of  the  variety.  Small  early  kinds  may  be 
planted  in  hills  three  feet  apart  each  way  or  in  rows  three  feet 
apart,  but  larger  kinds  may  need  wider  spacing,  even  up  to  five 
feet.  Seed  should  always  be  planted  in  excess:  five  or  six  kernels 
to  the  hill,  to  be  thinned  to  the  three  or  four  strongest  plants ;  four 
inches  apart  in  the  row,  to  be  thinned  to  ten  or  fifteen  inches  ac- 
cording to  size  of  variety. 

For  laying  off  hills  in  straight  lines  after  plowing  and  harrow- 
ing, a  marker  should  be  used  both  ways  and  the  corn  planted  at 


190  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

the  intersections  of  the  lines  either  with  the  hoe  or  the  hand  corn 
planter.  For  planting  in  rows  the  drill  attachment  or  hand  dropping 
in  the  furrow  is  used,  followed  by  the  harrow. 

Depth  of  planting  depends  upon  the  soil  and  the  situation  for 
the  reasons  given  in  the  chapter  on  propagation.  On  very  light 
soils  in  dry  regions  very  deep  covering  is  admissible  because  the 
few  inches  at  the  surface  count  for  nothing,  but  on  heavier  soils 
in  good  moisture,  and  especially  early  in  the  season,  shallow  cover- 
ing is  preferable. 

For  succession  there  should  be  planting  done  in  the  garden 
every  two  weeks  during  the  local  season. 

Selection  of  Seed  Corn. — W.  D.  Trewhitt,  of  Kings  county, 
gives  seed  selection  much  credit  for  his  high  acreage  yield.  Two 
selections  are  made  each  year.  While  the  corn  is  still  in  the  field 
it  is  gone  over  the  first  time,  stakes  being  stuck  in  the  ground  near 
those  stalks  which  are  medium  in  size  and  which  carry  a  medium 
amount  of  long,  straight  row  ears.  At  harvesting  time  the  ears 
from  these  stalks  are  husked  separately  and  taken  to  the  barn  where 
they  are  later  picked  over  again.  Here  the  ears  are  compared  again, 
the  above  qualities  as  well  as  the  tightness  of  the  grain  on  the  ear 
being  considered.  The  ears  scoring  the  highest  in  this  final  selec- 
tion are  the  ones  used  for  the  next  year's  seeding,  the  butt  ends, 
however,  never  being  used  for  seed. 

In  1912  W.  G.  Stimmel,  then  superintendent  of  the  Stanford 
ranch  at  Vina,  began  selection  from  the  growth  of  eastern  seed 
secured  an  improved  type  which  is  called  ''Stanford  Yellow  Dent" 
and  has  gained  wide  approval. 

Cultivation. — If  deep  working  of  the  soil  is  the  foundation  of 
a  corn  crop  as  stated,  frequent  summer  cultivation  is  the  building 
itself.  If  the  ground  is  well  laid  off,  the  cultivator  can  be  used  to 
advantage,  even  before  the  corn  shows  up  to  destroy  weeds  and 
loosen  the  surface.  Afterward  the  cultivator  should  be  run  at  very 
short  intervals,  for  the  hot,  dry  season  is  always  right  at  the  heels 
of  the  corn  planter  and  should  never  be  allowed  to  catch  up  with 
it.  Some  of  the  finest  corn  we  ever  saw  was  grown  in  Orange 
county  in  this  way:  The  land  was  plowed  four  times,  irrigated 
twice,  hoed  twice,  and  cultivated  and  worked  in  a  most  thorough 
manner.  In  the  whole  process  of  raising  the  corn  the  grower  went 
over  the  land  no  less  than  sixteen  times.  It  is  hardly  to  be  expected 
that  such  diligence  will  be  general,  but  it  has  to  be  recognized  as  the 
price  of  the  best  results. 

Combinations  with  Corn. — As  a  tall,  upright  plant  corn  is  avail- 
able for  sticking  in  with  other  vegetables  of  spreading  habit  and  in 
hot  regions  may  be  used  to  give  partial  shade  to  other  plants  which 
do  not  enjoy  summer  heat  as  much.  In  the  field  planting  of 
squashes,  cow  peas  and  other  running  plants  is  available  here  as 
elsewhere,  if  there  is  soil  moisture  enough.  In  the  garden  a  wider 
range  is  available. 


VARIETIES  OF  SWEET  CORN  191 

Corn  and  tomatoes  are  planted  half  way  up  on  the  sides  of 
furrows  in  Manuel  Veter's  garden  in  Tehama  county.  When  water 
runs  through  the  furrows  it  soaks  the  roots  without  touching  the 
plants.  Part  of  the  ridge  can  be  raked  into  the  furrow  so  soon 
as  the  water  has  sunk  away.  This  will  kill  weeds  and  prevent  the 
evaporation  and  baking,  but  keep  the  roots  moist. 

In  July  while  the  sweet  corn  was  in  silk  F.  Guido,  of  San 
Mateo,  set  large  cauliflower  plants  about  18  inches  apart  half  way 
up  the  ridge  along  each  row  of  corn.  This  was  out  of  the  way  of 
the  corn  pickers  and  still  low  enough  for  the  water,  which  was 
turned  in  the  same  afternoon  they  were  planted,  to  settle  the  dirt 
thoroughly  about  the  roots.  The  corn  proved  a  first-class  shade  for 
the  new  plants  till  they  got  started. 

Obviously  bands  of  three  rows  of  sweet  corn  are  good  shelter 
in  the  hot  season  for  the  blocks  of  low  vegetables  they  enclose 
against  hot  dry  winds.  Corn  should  not  be  planted  in  single  rows 
as  pollination  is  apt  to  be  only  partial  and  ears  scantily  filled. 

Varieties. — Every  one  wants  early  corn,  and  the  early  varieties 
are  about  the  only  kinds  that  can  be  grown  on  some  uplands  with- 
out irrigation.  They  are  small  in  growth,  rapid  in  ear  and  best 
wherever  the  season  is  shortened  either  by  lack  of  moisture  or  heat. 
Some  later  varieties  are  sweeter,  however,  and  larger  in  the  ear,  and 
should  be  grown  wherever  possible. 

Early  Cory:    very  early,  good-sized  ear,  small  cob  well  filled. 

Golden  Bantam :  very  early,  ears  medium  size ;  kernels  yellow,  rich  and 
delicious — a  surprise  to  those  unaccustomed  to  such  quality  in  a  yellow  corn. 

Early  Adams :  a  dwarf,  small  cob  variety,  popular  in  Imperial  valley  for 
earliest  crop. 

Large  Adams:  freer  growth,  also  very  quick  to  mature;  good  for  late 
planting  for  fall  crop. 

Crosby's  Early  Sugar:    very  early,  short  ear,  sweet  and  productive. 

Early  Minnesota :   very  early,  good  ear,  white  cob,  excellent  quality. 

Early  Mammoth :  medium  early,  largest  ears  of  the  early  varieties,  cob 
white,  large  and  well  filled,  productive  and  of  good  flavor. 

Black  Mexican:  ears  rather  short,  cook  white,  very  sweet,  ripe  kernel 
black. 

Oregon  Evergreen:  early,  large,  rich  ear;  husk  resists  wilting;  popular 
with  market  growers. 

Country  Gentleman:    large  ears,  very  sweet,  tall,  very  productive. 

Golden  Cream:    a  yellow  country  gentleman  of  high  quality. 

Stowell's  Evergreen:  a  standard  late  variety,  commended  by  all,  large 
ears,  deep  grain,  tender  and  sweet,  a  strong  grower  and  productive. 

Stabler  Early:    early;  small  kernel;  good  table  variety. 

Forage  Corn. — Sweet  corn  is  constantly  increasing  in  popu- 
larity over  common  field  corn  for  green  and  cured  forage  for  cows. 
Late  Mammoth  and  Stowell's  Evergreen  are  largely  used  for  this 
purpose.  In  farm  garden  practice  more  attention  should  usually  be 
paid  to  the  forage  value  of  the  stalk.  If  cut  and  cured  as  each 
stalk  is  robbed  of  its  ears,  it  is  more  nutritious  than  if  allowed  to 
bleach  in  the  sun  until  the  whole  field  is  cleaned  up. 


192  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

FIELD  AND  SILAGE  CORN. 

The  growth  of  corn  in  California  as  a  grain  or  silage  crop  is 
out  of  the  view  of  this  treatise.  An  interesting  publication  on  the 
subject  can  be  had  from  the  Experiment  Station  at  Berkeley.  Dur- 
ing the  last  decade  silos  have  multiplied  in  various  parts  of  the 
state  and  a  much  greater  acreage  of  field  corn  has  been  grown  than 
formerly.  It  is  chiefly  grown  in  rows  and  somewhat  less  carefully 
than  corn  for  grain,  because  the  plant  is  not  required  to  meet  the 
strenuous  requirements  of  grain  for  ripening.  Still  the  better  the 
growing  the  better  the  crop.  A  hardy,  vigorous,  tall  growth  is  im- 
portant for  silo  filling.  Varieties  chiefly  grown  are  the  Learning, 
which  well  meets  these  points  and  is  the  most  popular  of  the  yellow 
varieties  in  California,  and  Sanford  White  Flint,  and  Hickory  King 
hold  about  the  same  place  among  white  sorts.  In  the  Imperial  val- 
ley Mexican  June  does  better  than  varieties  of  eastern  origin.  The 
Red  Cob  Ensilage  is  a  strong  growing,  short  jointed  and  leafy  va- 
riety especially  selected  for  silo  purposes. 

Very  little  suckering  of  corn  is  done  in  California.  The  grower 
may  either  get  more  corn  by  suckering  or  that  the  corn  he  does  get 
will  be  better  developed  by  preventing  diversion  of  sap  from  the 
main  stalks,  it  is  becoming  more  clear  that  enough  is  not  gained 
in  either  way  to  pay  the  cost  of  suckering. 

Corn  After  Grain  Hay. — W.  D.  Trewhitt,  of  Kings,  averages 
eighty  bushels  of  corn  after  taking  off  a  crop  of  wheat  or  barley 
hay  from  the  same  land  each  year.  The  corn  is  usually  planted  the 
latter  part  of  June  after  the  land  has  been  irrigated  and  plowed 
good  and  deep.  As  soon  as  it  gets  above  the  ground  cultivating  is 
done  as  long  as  possible,  usually  three  times.  One  irrigation  is 
made  after  planting,  when  the  corn  is  just  beginning  to  tassel  out. 

POP  CORN. 

Pop  corn  is  grown  in  California  to  some  extent  but  much  is 
brought  from  the  East.  Most  of  California  popcorn  is  grown  in 
Los  Angeles  county.  The  demand  for  California  popcorn  is  strong 
because  it  is  raised  in  a  temperate,  dry  climate,  where  irrigation  is 
taken  off  when  the  silks  begin  to  turn,  drying  the  kernels  and  cobs 
so  the  corn  is  ready  to  pop  four  weeks  after  picking.  Eastern 
corn  must  cure  three  times  as  long.  Robert  Haengge  of  Inglewood 
raises  about  40  acres  every  year;  and  eastern  field  corn  does  not 
grow  more  thriftily.  It  stools  out  often  eight  or  ten  stalks  from 
one  kernel  and  each  stalk  averages  about  two  salable  ears. 

TAMALE  COVERS. 

A  by-product  of  the  corn  field  is  the  tamale  wrapper  for  which 
a  variety  of  corn  with  a  thin  paper-like  husk  is  required.  Two  or 
three  hundred  pounds  may  be  had  to  the  acre,  and  some  estimate 
about  one  ton  of  husks  to  six  tons  of  corn.  On  harvesting  for  both 


<-  •  ir 

;'A       ijPF  "' 


CORN    HUSKS   FOR  TAMALE   COVERS  193 

corn  and  husks  the  ears  are  broken  off  from  the  stalks  entire,  and 
placed  in  convenient  piles,  around  which  the  operators  sit  while 
breaking  or  cutting  out  the  ears  without  great  disturbance  of  the 
coverings,  which  are  placed  in  neat  bales  of  about  sixty  pounds 
each,  in  which  they  are  sent  to  the  buyer.  The  price  is  variable, 
and  has  ranged  in  different  years  from  four  to  fifteen  cents  a  pound. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 


THE  CUCUMBER. 

CUCUMBER. — Cucumis  sativus. 

French,    concombre ;     German,    gurke ;     Dutch,    komkommer ;     Danish, 
agurken;  Italian,  cetriolo;   Spanish,  cohombro;  Portuguese,  pepino. 

The  cucumber  is  rather  an  exacting  plant  and  seldom  yields 
anything  but  disappointment  to  the  grower  who  does  not  give  it 
the  most  watchful  care  and  generous  supplies  of  food  and  drink. 
It  is  very  sensitive  to  frosts,  nor  does  it  thrive  in  low  temperatures 
even  if  free  from  frost.  It  rejoices  in  heat,  but  it  abhors  drought. 
It  is  not  content,  like  some  members  of  its  botanical  family,  to 
thrive  in  dry  heat  if  it  can  find  moisture  below;  the  heat  reflected 
from  a  dry  surface  and  interior  sunshine  beaming  through  dry  air 
brings  distress  to  its  foliage.  For  these  reasons  it  usually  resents 
location  on  interior  plains  unless  it  can  have  abundant  moisture  and 
some  protection  from  heat — such  at  least  as  locally  may  come  from 
modifying  the  air  immediately  around  it,  by  evaporation  from  water 
standing  near.  Modified  interior  conditions  such  as  are  found  on 
river-side  lands,  or  moist  lowlands  often  yield  fine  growth  and  pro- 
ductiveness, but  even  there  it  is  often  necessary  to  keep  the  moist- 
use  close  to  the  plant  by  irrigation.  In  coast  valleys  where  heat  and 
moisture  are  well  balanced  and  on  soil  rich  and  moist  by  cultivation 
the  plant  may  be  productive  enough  without  irrigation,  but  as  a  rule 
even  in  parts  of  coast  valleys  where  the  heat  runs  high,  as  ocean 
influences  are  reduced,  not  only  is  occasional  irrigation  needed,  but 
constant  supplies  are  the  price  of  thrift  in  the  plant.  For  these  rea- 
sons the  placing  of  cucumbers  along  the  main  ditches  where  water 
frequently  or  always  flows,  or  the  use  of  a  raised  bed  with  water 
flowing  on  the  ridge,  is  the  surest  way  to  make  the  plants  satisfac- 
tory and  prolific  where  the  heat  runs  high.  And  yet,  as  stated, 
there  are  considerable  areas  in  different  parts  of  the  state  where 
conditions  are  so  favorable  that  field  growth  of  cucumbers  for  the 
market  and  for  the  pickle  factories,  is  feasible  without  irrigation. 
There  are  moist  lowlands,  rich  and  warm,  where  the  foliage  does 
not  show  burnt  edges  and  where  the  free  growth  of  vine  is  marvel- 
ous to  one  who  has  tried  to  push  the  plant  in  places  too  trying  for  it. 
It  is  also  possible  in  f  restless  regions  where  heat  comes  early  in  the 
spring,  to  find  conditions  for  an  early  crop  which  is  disposed  of 
before  trying  summer  conditions  come  on.  Early  spring  condi- 
tions in  California  are  widely  favorable  to  the  plant  did  not  the  frost 
factor  intrude.  Autumn  growing  is  also  practicable  where  moisture 
is  adequate,  for  then  heat  and  drought  are  modified.  Cucumbers 
[194] 


WAYS  TO  GROW   CUCUMBERS  195 

from  the  open  ground  at  Thanksgiving  or  later  are  common  in 
some  regions. 

Soil. — Cucumbers  require  a  rich  soil,  and  it  must  be  retentive 
of  moisture,  for  the  reasons  stated,  unless  water  is  to  be  constantly 
supplied.  A  rather  light  soil  which  warms  up  early  is  preferable, 
but  heavy  soil  can  be  readily  adapted  to  cucumbers  on  a  small  scale 
by  free  use  of  well-rotted  manure  thoroughly  mixed.  A  free  loam, 
not  disposed  to  bake,  is  the  best  soil. 

Preparation  of  Soil. — Land  from  which  a  well-cultivated  root 
crop  has  been  removed  for  winter  use  can  be  easily  put  into  condi- 
tion for  cucumbers  by  good  deep  spring  plowing  and  harrowing, 
to  retain  moisture.  New  land  should  receive  such  fall  and  winter 
treatment  as  has  been  prescribed  for  bean  planting,  so  as  to  secure 
in  spring  as  good  tilth  and  moisture  retention  as  possible. 

Planting  and  Cultivation. — Cucumbers  are  usually  grown  in 
hills,  from  four  to  six  feet  apart  each  way.  Planting  should  not 
be  done  until  the  soil  becomes  warm  and  frost  injury  is  over;  then 
planting  five  or  six  seeds  in  a  hill,  covering  as  lightly  as  can  be 
trusted  to  retain  moisture  until  the  plants  take  hold.  As  soon  as 
the  plants  appear,  cultivation  must  begin,  using  the  horse  between 
the  rows  and  the  hoe  around  the  plants.  The  surface  must  be  kept 
mellow  and  free  from  weeds.  If  the  plants  all  grow  select  the  best 
two  or  three  and  pull  out  the  others,  Continue  cultivation  as  long 
as  it  is  possible  to  stir  the  soil  without  injuring  the  vines. 

Field  planting  is  sometimes  done  by  turning  furrows  eight  feet 
apart,  planting  the  seed  on  each  side  of  the  furrow,  having  the  hills 
at  least  four  feet  apart  in  the  row;  train  the  vines  away  from  the 
furrow  and  use  the  furrow  to  run  the  water  in,  keeping  it  away 
from  the  plant  and  the  fruit. 

Gathering. — Frequent  gathering  of  the  cucumbers  as  they  reach 
satisfactory  size  is  essential  to  the  long  bearing  of  the  vines.  None 
should  be  allowed  to  ripen  except  on  vines  planted  for  that  purpose, 
and  all  imperfect  specimens  should  be  taken  off  as  soon  as  seen. 

Cucumbers  Under  Cover. — Very  little  is  done  in  California  in 
house-growing  of  cucumbers.  A  little  forcing  is  done  by  market 
gardeners,  but  the  business  is  risky  because  of  the  slight  demand 
and  the  fact  that  open-air  cucumbers  from  early  regions  come  so 
soon  after  the  late  crop  from  f rostless  places  is  disposed  of.  Grow- 
ing under  cover  of  glass  or  cloth  is  done  without  providing  artificial 
heat.  The  natural  temperatures  and  protection  from  frost  are  relied 
upon.  It  is  quite  common  to  start  plants  under  cover,  and  plant 
out  early  even  at  risk  of  replanting.  Growers  usually  keep  a  stock 
of  plants  ready  for  this  purpose. 

Garden  Culture  of  Cucumbers. — In  the  garden  very  elaborate 
arrangements  may  be  made  to  secure  early  cucumbers.  Growing 
the  plants  on  inverted  sod  and  planting  out  as  a  whole  hill,  as  de- 
scribed in  Chapter  XI,  is  satisfactory.  Planting  on  the  sides  of 
ditches  has  already  been  mentioned.  Growing  hills  or  single  plants 
in  tin  cans  or  other  receptacles  and  protecting  them  until  safe  to 


196  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

plant  out  is  also  an  easy  way  to  get  an  earlier  crop  than  otherwise. 
This  method  is  in  fact  employed  on  quite  a  large  scale  by  Chinese 
growers  in  the  Marysville  region  of  the  Sacramento  valley  in  this 
way :  About  the  latter  third  of  February,  the  time  varying  with  the 
season,  the  seeds  are  planted  in  old  tin  cans  that  have  otherwise  out- 
lived their  usefulness,  to  give  the  plants  a  good  start  in  spite  of 
frosts.  Rich  soil  with  lots  of  manure  is  used  in  the  cans,  and  after 
the  plants  are  a  couple  of  inches  high,  and  weather  permits,  the  cans 
are  split  open  so  as  to  let  the  roots  out  without  disturbing  the  soil, 
and  set  out  in  raised  beds,  where  they  start  bearing  about  the  mid- 
dle of  May.  The  cucumbers  are  picked  every  morning  and  are 
well  irrigated  and  the  next  morning  are  ready  to  pick  again.  They 
have  about  a  two  months'  start  in  the  market  over  the  bay  districts 
and  the  San  Joaquin  truck  gardens. 

Some  use  is  made  of  deep  holes  partly  rilled  with  tramped  horse 
manure  and  then  with  earth  and  growing  plants  on  top  of  the  hill 
thus  formed,  protected  with  glass  or  cloth.  With  such  arrange- 
ments double  care  must  be  had  to  supply  enough  water.  The  south 
side  of  a  fence  or  building  is  a  good  place  for  fast  spring  growth. 
In  short,  moderate  heat,  copious  watering  and  rich  soil  are  the  se- 
crets of  good  cucumbers,  and  there  is  much  chance  for  ingenuity  in 
securing  these  conditions. 

For  pickling. — Cucumbers  for  pickling  are  largely  grown  in 
the  early  autumn  from  midsummer  planting.  As  stated  before, 
where  irrigation  can  be  had,  autumn  temperatures  are  often  very 
favorable  for  the  plant. 

Varieties. — Although  our  county  fairs  may  be  counted  upon  to 
bring  to  view  almost  every  shape  and  length  of  cucumber  which 
amateurs  delight  in,  very  few  kinds  constitute  the  crop  grown 
for  use: 

Arlington  White  Spine :  good  size,  straight  and  symmetrical,  holds  green 
color  well,  very  productive  and  early;  used  both  for  market  and  pickling. 

Evergreen  White  Spine:  a  standard  mid-season  variety,  large,  dark 
green,  tender,  white  crisp  flesh. 

Klondike:  similar  to  Long  White  Spine,  specially  favored  by  southern 
California  market  growers. 

Long  Green:  an  old  standard  late  variety;  dark  green;  firm  and  crisp; 
good  form ;  a  favorite  for  pickling. 

Green  Prolific  or  Boston  Pickling:  early  and  productive;  small  size; 
crisp  and  tender;  popular  for  pickling. 

Everbearing:  very  early  and  prolific;  medium  length,  thick;  rich  dark 
green. 

Davis  Perfection:  long,  slender,  good  green  color,  and  flesh  white  and 
crisp;  flavor  excellent;  commended  for  family  garden. 

Cumberland:  hardy,  vigorous  and  prolific;  very  desirable  for  pickling 
because  very  good  in  all  sizes. 

Chicago  Pickling:  medium  long,  dark  green,  rounded  ends;  a  popular 
pickling  variety. 

Cool  and  Crisp :  especially  favored  as  a  garden  variety ;  green  but  ripen- 
ing white. 

Lemon :  resembles  its  namesake  in  shape  and  color  and  is  used  when 
yellow ;  eaten  as  plucked  from  vines ;  also  used  as  are  other  cucumbers ; 
becoming  popular. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 
EGG  PLANT. 

EGG  PLANT. — Solatium  melongena. 

French,    aubergine;    German,    eierpflanze;    Flemish,    eierplant;    Italian, 
petonciano ;  Spanish,  berengena ;  Portuguese,  bringela. 

Egg  plant  is  one  of  the  great  vegetables  in  California;  it  is 
great  in  size  and  quality,  which  are  easily  attained,  and  great  in 
its  popularity.  It  is  doubtful  whether  any  part  of  the  world  makes 
such  free  use  of  the  plant,  and  enjoys  it  through  so  long  a  season. 
Although  the  plant  is  properly  classed  as  tender,  and  is  somewhat 
exacting  in  the  starting  of  the  seed  and  in  transplanting,  it  grows 
riotously  when  well  established  in  a  favorable  location  and  soil; 
fruits  freely  and  continuously,  and  it  is  not  unusual  to  find  at  Cali- 
fornia fairs  specimens  of  six  pounds'  weight,  while  fruit  of  two 
and  three  pounds  constitute  common  stock  with  the  vegetable 
peddlers. 

Location  and  Soil. — Egg  plant  can  be  successfully  grown  al- 
most everywhere  in  California,  but  there  will  naturally  be  much 
variation  in  its  season,  according  to  the  local  occurrence  of  the 
frost-free  period.  In  the  frostless  belts,  described  in  previous  chap- 
ters, it  is  feasible  to  start  the  plants  in  the  autumn  and  secure  a 
very  early  crop;  in  most  places,  however,  the  plants  can  best  be 
grown  with  bottom  heat  in  the  winter,  and  fruiting  secured  all 
through  the  summer  and  fall,  if  the  nights  are  rather  warm  and  the 
dry  heat  not  too  fitful. 

As  the  plant  will  endure  very  high  heat  if  well  supplied  with 
moisture,  and  as  it  resists  drought,  when  well  established,  it  is  well 
adapted  to  interior  conditions.  It  succeeds  admirably  in  the  in- 
terior bottom  lands  if  water  is  not  excessive,  and  is  perfectly  at 
home  as  well  in  the  coast  regions,  both  valley  and  uplands,  if  ade- 
quately watered.  It  is  not  very  exacting  in  soil  character,  and  can 
be  safely  undertaken  on  any  good  garden  land  if  well  cultivated  and 
manured ;  for  the  plant  is  a  strong  feeder  and  should  grow  fast  and 
regularly. 

Growing  the  Plants. — Egg  plants  can  be  easily  grown  from 
seed  by  the  use  of  seed-boxes,  with  bottom  heat  or  in  an  ordinary 
hot-bed,  all  of  which  are  described  in  the  chapter  on  propagation. 
The  seed  should  be  covered  about  half  an  inch.  Extra  regard  must 
be  had  for  maintaining  a  uniform  and  rather  high  temperature  for 
the  starting  and  early  growth  of  the  seedlings.  Transplanting  the 
seedlings,  into  other  seed-beds  or  cold  frames,  twice  before  planting 
out  renders  them  more  stocky.  Planting  out  should  only  be  done 
when  the  soil  is  warm  and  in  good  moist  condition,  for  it  is  neces- 

[197] 


198  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

sary  that  the  seedlings  should  quickly  take  hold  and  proceed  vigor- 
ously afterward.  Plants  may  be  grown  from  three  to  four  feet 
apart  each  way. 

After  Treatment. — The  best  of  cultivation  must  be  given  to 
prevent  any  check  or  setback  in  the  growth  of  the  plants.  Irriga- 
tion must  be  used  as  necessary  to  advance  this  result.  It  is  desir- 
able that  the  plant  should  be  prevented  from  setting  too  many  fruits, 
and  pinching  off  the  terminals  to  prevent  too  great  running  out  is 
often  advisable.  It  is  also  desirable  to  dispose  the  fruits  so  they 
do  not  enlarge  upon  each  other. 

Varieties. — The  New  York  Improved  Purple  is  the  favorite 
variety  and  is  chiefly  grown.  Black  Beauty,  a  deep  purple,  a  little 
earlier  but  usually  not  quite  so  large  is  also  popular.  Other  sorts, 
though  much  less  popular,  are  the  Early  Long  Purple  and  the  Black 
Pekin.  The  White  Pearl  is  the  best  of  the  whites  which  are,  how- 
ever, in  less  demand.  The  Tree  Egg  Plant  is  hardy,  upright  and 
escapes  some  ills  of  lower  growing  varieties  in  bad  weather. 


CHAPTER    XXIII. 
LETTUCE. 

CABBAGE  LETTUCE. — Lactuca  capitata. 

French,  laitues  pommees;  German,  kopfsalat;  Dutch,  kropsalad;  Italian, 
lattuga  a  cappucio ;  Spanish,  lechuga  acogollada ;  Portuguese,  alf ace  repolhada. 

Cos  LETTUCE. — Idem. 

French,  laitues  romaines;  German,  bind-salat;  Dutch,  roomsche  latouw; 
Italian,  lattuga  romana;  Spanish,  lechuga  romana;  Portuguese,  alface 
romana. 

Lettuce  is  emphatically  a  satisfactory  garden  plant  in  Califor- 
nia.    It  is  unaffected,  except  in  slower  growth,  by  the  ordinary 
winter  temperatures  of  our  valleys  and  foothills,  and  it  endures  the 
heat,  if  moisture  is  adequate,  with  only  slight  protection  from  the 
burning  sun.     It  withers  and  dies  or  it  becomes  tough  and  worth- 
less, in  the  face  of  drought,  it  is  true,  but  any  gardener  who  does 
not  arrange  better  for  its  growth  does  not  deserve  to  enjoy  its  re- 
freshing crispness.     Whoever  will   provide   the   simplest  arrange- 
ment to  relieve  its  roots  from  cold,  standing  water  in  winter,  or 
who  will  keep  its  roots  moist  and  afford  slight  shade  for  its  tender 
leaves  from  the  interior  heat  in  summer,  need  never  miss  a  day  of 
lettuce-gathering.    And  even  these  slight  aids  from  the  grower  are 
not  needed  everywhere.     In   regions  naturally  moderate,  both   in 
moisture  and  heat,  and  with  a  few  weeks  of  watering  in  midsum- 
mer, succession  of  lettuce  is  unbroken  throughout  the  year  on  any 
good  garden  soil  which  is  well  cultivated.     There  is  little  lettuce 
forcing  in  California,  and,  of  course,  with  such  natural  conditions, 
there  is  small  need  of  any,  and  yet  during  recent  years,  owing  to 
the  constant  demand  for  lettuce  all  the  year,  because  of  the  in- 
creased importance  of  salads  in  the  menu,  there  has  arisen  new 
opportunity  for  forcing  and  shipment  of  lettuce  considerable  dis- 
tances by  rail  has  advanced  notably  during  the  last  decade.     In 
central  California  cities  during  the  season  of  heaviest  rains  it  is 
hard  to  get  bright,  clean  lettuce  from  local  market  gardens  and 
much  is  brought  from  southern  California,  where  there  is  less  rain 
and  more  winter  sunshine.     In  addition  to  such  movement  within 
the  state,  about  1500  carloads  are  annually  shipped  beyond  state 
lines.     From  Imperial  county  during  March  and  April  about  500 
carloads  and  from  Los  Angeles  and  Orange  counties  from  November 
to  June  about  1000  carloads  are  shipped.    This  product  is  distributed 
through  eastern  states  and  Canada.     In  addition  to  the  foregoing, 
which  is  estimated  to  occupy  about  a  thousand  acres,  there  are  per- 
haps five  hundred  acres  in  commercial  lettuce  growing  in  the  dis- 
tricts of  San  Francisco,  Sacramento  and  Stockton.     All  of  this  is 

[199] 


200  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

grown  in  the  open  air.  It  is  to  be  expected  that  as  population  in- 
creases there  will  be  a  better  opportunity  for  local  forcing  enter- 
prises which  can  be  conducted  with  slight  structures  and  a  minimum 
of  artificial  heat. 

GARDEN  CULTURE. 

Lettuce  can  be  sown  on  moist  ground  the  year  round.  It  is 
exceedingly  rapid  in  development  (from  seed  to  head  in  fourteen 
weeks,  perhaps)  and  can  be  grown  as  a  catch  crop  among  slower 
growing  vegetables  at  all  times  of  the  year.  It  starts  readily  from 
the  seed,  and  the  most  common  practice  is  to  sow  a  thin  drill  of  it 
here  or  there,  as  interspace  is  to  be  for  a  short  time  unoccupied, 
thinning  the  plants  at  the  first  weeding  and  allowing  them  to  head 
in  the  thinned  row.  This  is  the  simplest  practice,  and  will  be  most 
generally  followed  in  the  farm  garden.  And  yet  it  is  so  easy  to 
imitate  the  market  gardeners  and  put  in  transplanted  lettuce  here 
and  there,  wherever  an  unoccupied  corner  appears,  that  this  prac- 
tice must  be  urged  even  for  the  simplest  gardening. 

It  is  possible  to  grow  about  thirty  thousand  heads  to  the  acre 
by  proper  laying  off  and  culture.  Plants  14  inches  apart  in  rows 
16  inches  apart  is  a  good  lay-out  for  hand  cultivation.  Transplant- 
ing should  be  done  when  the  ground  is  moist  and  irrigation  should 
soon  follow  planting  unless  rain  comes. 

Wherever  a  winter  or  early  spring  vegetable  is  cleared  away  a 
due  share  of  lettuce  should  go  in.  Wherever  a  summer  vegetable 
yields  the  ground,  the  soil  should  be  well  soaked  and  cultivated 
and  the  lettuce  should  not  be  overlooked.  As  soon  as  the  fall  rains 
sufficiently  wet  the  ground,  lettuce  should  be  among  the  first  sow- 
ings. And  before  the  winter  comes  on,  with  its  heavy  rains,  a 
warm  ridge  or  raised  bed  should  have  its  lettuce  covering  under- 
way so  that  midwinter  shall  not  lack  its  supply  of  salad.  And  in 
February,  as  the  ground  is  again  suited  for  flat  culture,  new  sow- 
ings of  lettuce  should  be  among  the  first  things  done.  Thus  it  is 
seen  that  lettuce  is  to  be  sown  all  the  year  and  plucked  all  the  year 
in  California. 

It  is  not  necessary,  perhaps,  to  sow  lettuce  so  often  if  seed- 
beds are  prepared  so  that  they  will  readily  drain  away  winter  water 
and  have  slight  protection  from  cold  winds  in  the  winter  and  burn- 
ing sun  in  summer.  From  these  beds  plants  can  be  taken  at  dif- 
ferent times  as  land  is  available  for  planting  out,  just  as  cabbages 
are  transplanted,  and  even  though  the  plants  have  attained  consid- 
erable size  in  the  seed-bed,  the  long  roots  can  be  shortened  a  little 
and,  if  not  too  large,  they  can  still  be  transplanted  to  good  moist 
soil,  and  will  go  on  with  heading  all  the  better  for  the  freer  space. 
Seed-beds  should  not  have  much  heating  material  in  this  climate. 
It  is  better  for  the  plants  to  grow  slowly  at  first,  and  after  the 
rains  a  raised  bed  with  enough  fibrous  material  and  well-spent  ma- 
nure will  furnish  a  long  succession  for  transplanting.  But  whether 


COMMERCIAL  LETTUCE  GROWING  201 

the  ordinary  grower  will  undertake  this  work  or  not,  let  him  have 
lettuce  anyway — even  if  he  will  only  scatter  seed  at  frequent  in- 
tervals on  moist  ground  and  then  give  the  plants  good  hoeing.  To 
get  crisp,  tender  lettuce  the  plants  must  be  pushed  along  with  rich 
soil  and  good  cultivation  whatever  method  of  growing  is  pursued. 
In  the  hot  parts  of  the  state,  where  the  summer  tries  the  plants, 
lettuce  should  be  planted  on  the  shady  side  of  tall  growing  vege- 
tables, and  then,  with  moisture  enough,  they  will  do  well.  Lath 
screens  or  other  devices  are,  of  course,  serviceable  if  one  prefers 
them.  But  do  not  be  content  with  a  little  lettuce  in  the  spring  and 
go  without  the  rest  of  the  year.  It  only  requires  a  little  ingenuity 
and  energy  and  water  to  have  salad  all  summer.  Even  if  the  grower 
does  have  to  face  the  vexation  of  plants  going  to  seed  in  the  ex- 
treme heat,  he  should  persist  in  his  effort. 

COMMERCIAL  LETTUCE  GROWING. 

Details  of  commercial  lettuce  growing  are  faithfully  set  forth 
by  Prof.  S.  S.  Rogers,  of  the  University  Farm,  who  has  given  par- 
ticular attention  to  this  subject  for  several  years  and  has  written  a 
special  publication*  from  which  we  draw  both  text  and  illustrations. 

For  the  interior  valleys  of  the  state  the  planting  season  gen- 
erally starts  during  the  last  of  August  and  continues  until  the  first 
of  March.  Many  growers  make  a  first  planting  of  the  seed  from 
the  middle  to  the  last  of  August,  a  second  in  October,  and  a  third 
during  January  and  February.  Along  the  coast,  where  the  climate 
is  more  moderate,  it  is  possible  to  grow  lettuce  successfully  during 
any  month  of  the  year. 

There  are  two  methods  for  growing  lettuce,  both  of  which  are 
used  extensively  in  California.  The  first  is  by  planting  the  seed 
directly  in  the  field,  sowing  it  in  drills  on  the  borders  of  the  raised 
beds;  the  second  is  to  sow  in  seed-beds  and  transplant  the  young 
plants  into  the  field  when  they  have  attained  the  desired  size. 

There  are  several  forms  of  seed-beds  in  use,  the  most  common 
being  the  sunken  beds,  which  vary  from  three  to  six  feet  in  width 
and  eight  to  fifteen  feet  in  length.  The  earth  taken  from  the  bed 
is  hoed  up  to  form  a  levee  around  it  to  aid  in  irrigating.  Before 
planting,  a  heavy  coating  of  well-rotted  manure  is  spaded  under 
and  the  soil  is  heavily  irrigated  just  before  seeding.  The  seed  may 
either  be  broadcast  or  sown  in  drills,  and  covered  one-half  inch. 
If  the  soil  is  liable  to  run  together  and  bake  when  irrigated,  a  thin 
coating  of  well-rotted,  screened  stable  manure  should  be  applied 
on  the  surf  ace 'before  seeding.  It  will  aid  in  germination  if  strips 
of  burlap  are  placed  on  the  soil  to  remain  until  the  young  plants 
are  appearing  at  the  surface.  In  removing  this  covering  the  young 
plants  should  not  be  exposed  too  suddenly  to  the  light.  During  the 
warm  months  it  is  often  necessary  to  irrigate  several  times  before 

'Circular   160,   University   Experiment   Station,    "Lettuce   Growing   in    California  "   by 
Stanley   S.    Rogers.   March    1917. 


202  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

the  young  plants  appear.  The  water  may  be  applied  either  through  a 
sprinkler  or  by  flooding,  using  only  a  small  stream  so  that  the 
tender  seedlings  may  not  be  injured.  The  amount  of  irrigation 
which  the  beds  will  need  depends  largely  upon  the  character  of  the 
soil  and  the  season  of  the  year.  During  the  early  fall  the  beds 
are  often  irrigated  three  or  four  times  a  week,  while  later  in  the 
season  one  or  two  irrigations  will  prove  sufficient.  When  the  plants 
are  one  and  a  half  or  two  inches  tall  the  beds  may  be  weeded  and 
the  plants  thinned,  leaving  the  distance  between  the  plants  not  less 
than  one  inch. 

Under  ordinary  conditions  the  plants  remain  in  the  seed-beds 
six  weeks,  although  the  time  will  vary  from  one  to  two  months 
with  the  season  of  the  year  and  care  of  the  plants.  When  planting 
directly  in  the  field  three  to  four  pounds  of  seed  will  be  sufficient 
for  one  acre ;  in  seed-beds  for  transplanting  at  the  University  Farm 
Garden,  2600  square  feet  of  seed-beds  raised  plants  enough  for 
one  acre. 

When  quick-growing  plants  are  desired  the  seed  should  be 
sown  in  hot-beds  in  preference  to  the  open  beds.  This  is  occa- 
sionally done  during  the  winter  and  early  spring. 

Lifting  the  Plants. — Plants  may  be  transplanted  when  they  are 
from  two  to  four  inches  tall,  the  larger  size  being  preferable  during 
the  warm  weather.  Before  removing,  the  plants  should  be  hardened 
by  stopping  the  irrigation  a  few  days  in  advance  so  that  their 
growth  may  be  checked.  A  few  hours  before  the  plants  are  to  be 
removed  they  should  be  thoroughly  irrigated  in  order  that  as  much 
soil  and  as  many  fibrous  roots  as  possible  may  be  taken  up  with  the 
seedlings.  There  are  two  methods  for  removing  the  plants.  Those 
who  have  had  considerable  experience  may  pull  them  by  hand. 
Those  with  limited  experience,  and  especially  if  the  soil  is  of  a 
heavy  nature,  should  dig  them  with  the  aid  of  a  trowel  or  shovel. 
The  plants  should  be  constantly  covered  until  they  are  planted  in 
the  field  and  not  exposed  to  the  sun.  If  the  seedlings  are  too  large, 
the  leaves  and  roots  should  be  cut  back — the  top  three  inches  tall 
and  roots  two  inches  long. 

Preparation  of  the  Soil. — The  soil  should  be  in  the  finest  possi- 
ble condition  and  free  from  all  weed  growth.  Many  growers  apply 
from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  tons  of  manure  per  acre.  This  should 
be  applied  long  enough  in  advance  of  planting  so  that  it  may  be 
plowed  under  and  completely  rotted  by  the  time  the  field  is  ready 
for  use.  In  the  fall  before  the  rains  have  commenced,  the  field 
should  be  heavily  irrigated  before  plowing,  but  in  the  winter  and 
spring  months  there  is  generally  a  sufficient  amount  of  moisture 
without  irrigation.  After  the  soil  has  been  worked  into  good  con- 
dition, raised  beds  or  ridges  should  be  made  by  the  use  of  a  special 
cultivator  attachment.  The  beds  should  be  from  twelve  to  eighteen 
inches  wide,  four  to  six  inches  high,  and  the  spaces  between  them 
ten  to  fifteen  inches — extending  to  main  ditches  or  across  the  field. 


LETTUCE  CULTIVATION  AND  IRRIGATION  203 

Planting. — The  distance  between  the  plants  in  the  field  varies 
from  eight  to  fifteen  inches.  Where  a  variety  producing  large 
heads,  such  as  the  Los  Angeles,  not  less  than  twelve  inches  apart, 
in  rows  twelve  inches  apart  is  best,  but  if  a  smaller  variety  the 
spaces  may  be  slightly  reduced.  If  he  seed  has  been  sown  directly 
in  the  field  the  plants  should  be  thinned  when  they  are  from  two  to 
four  inches  tall,  and  the  vacant  spaces  filled  with  those  removed 
while  thinning. 

Irrigation. — A  few  days  before  planting,  the  field  should  be 
irrigated  in  order  to  settle  the  earth  in  the  raised  beds,  and  to  show 
how  far  up  on  them  the  water  will  come.  If  this  is  not  done  many 
of  the  plants  will  be  so  high  on  the  beds  that  they  will  not  receive 
sufficient  water,  while  others  will  be  so  low  that  they  will  be  in- 
jured from  an  over-supply.  As  soon  as  the  plants  have  been  trans- 
planted the  field  should  be  thoroughly  irrigated,  and  it  is  especially 
important  while  they  are  young  that  frequent  irrigations  be  given. 
In  applying  the  water  care  should  be  taken  that  it  is  not  allowed  to 
flow  over  the  tops  of  the  beds,  and  it  will  be  found  much  more  sat- 
isfactory to  use  a  small  stream,  allowing  it  to  run  between  the  beds 
slowly,  and  thoroughly  soaking  into  them,  than  a  larger  stream 
flowing  more  rapidly. 

The  number  of  irrigations  which  the  field  will  require  can  only 
be  determined  by  the  condition  of  the  plants.  It  is  sometimes  de- 
sirable to  irrigate  every  week  throughout  the  season,  while  under 
other  conditions  one  or  two  irrigations  will  be  sufficient.  There 
should  always  be  an  adequate  amount  of  moisture  in  the  soil  from 
the  time  the  plants  have  commenced  to  head  until  they  have  ma- 
tured, because  the  character  and  size  of  the  heads  is  influenced  to  a 
great  extent  by  the  quantity  of  soil  moisture  present. 

During  the  late  spring  if  it  is  desirable  to  hold  the  crop  in  the 
field  for  a  short  time  after  it  has  matured,  no  more  water  should 
be  applied,  as  it  will  increase  the  liability  of  the  plants  going  to  seed. 

Cultivation. — When  raised  beds  are  used  all  cultivation  is  done 
by  hand,  the  field  being  hoed  from  one  to  five  times  during  the  sea- 
son, depending  upon  the  soil,  the  weed  growth,  and  the  thorough- 
ness with  which  the  beds  have  been  made  and  irrigated.  The  soil 
need  not  be  hoed  between  the  beds  unless  there  is  a  heavy  growth 
of  weeds.  Occasionally  water  will  flow  over  the  tops  of  the  beds 
and  these  low  places  should  be  hoed  after  each  irrigaion  if  the  soil 
has  a  tendency  to  run  together,  for  the  growth  of  the  plants  will  be 
retarded  if  fye  earth  close  to  them  is  allowed  to  harden. 

Harvesting. — The  time  required  to  mature  a  crop  of  lettuce  va- 
ries with  the  season,  the  character  of  the  soil,  and  the  care.  Plants 
set  in  the  field  during  September  should  mature  during  November 
and  December.  Plants  set  in  the  field  during  November  will  ma- 
ture from  February  to  April,  inclusive,  and  those  transplanted  dur- 
ing February  and  March  will  mature  from  April  to  June. 


204  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

The  period  of  growth  at  which  the  crop  should  be  harvested 
depends  largely  upon  the  season,  market  requirements  and  prices. 
The  California  market  demands  a  large  solid  head  and  the  crop 
should  remain  in  the  field  until  it  has  reached  this  condition. 

Chief  Lettuce  Troubles. — A  good  full  field  or  garden  bed  de- 
pends upon  good  seed  and  careful  attention  to  cultural  require- 
ments which  have  been  outlined. 

During  winter  and  spring,  especially  on  heavy  soils,  there  is 
danger  of  stem-rot.  The  plants  become  sickly  yellow  and  the  stems 
rot  at  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Diseased  plants  may  appear 
scattered  throughout  the  field,  or  in  well-defined  areas.  This  is  a 
fungus  disease  which  thrives  best  under  excessive  moisture  condi- 
tions. For  control  improve  the  drainage  and  make  the  beds  high 
enough  so  that  the  water  will  not  stand  directly  around  the  plants. 

Sunburn  is  manifested  by  a  blackening  of  the  edges  of  the 
leaves  inside  the  heads.  The  cause  is  a  period  of  excessive  hot 
weather  from  the  time  the  plants  are  half-grown  until  they  have 
commenced  to  head.  Planting  in  the  fall  or  early  spring  will  largely 
control  this  disease;  if  the  weather  is  very  hot  and  dry  during  the 
spring  the  plants  should  be  irrigated  frequently. 

Failure  to  produce  solid  heads  is  caused  either  by  a  poor 
quality  of  seed,  an  insufficient  supply  of  moisture,  or  unfavorable 
climatic  conditions,  such  as  excessive  hot  weather  while  the  plants 
are  maturing.  Use  only  well  selected  seed  and  apply  sufficient  moist- 
ure at  the  time  the  heads  are  maturing.  During  the  late  spring 
when  the  weather  is  hot  the  crop  should  be  harvested  immediately 
after  the  heads  have  matured. 

Varieties. — There  is  almost  illimitable  variety  in  lettuce,  and 
inextricable  confusion  in  the  nomenclature  resulting  from  renaming 
by  seedsmen  and  others.  As  with  other  plants,  however,  a  few  va- 
rieties constitute  the  bulk  of  the  California  lettuce  product.  It  is 
customary  to  arrange  lettuce  varieties  in  two  groups ;  one  has  round- 
ish heads  and  includes  the  "cabbage"  varieties;  the  other  has  elon- 
gated heads  and  includes  the  "cos"  varieties.  There  is,  of  course, 
much  difference  in  the  density  of  the  heads,  and  some  are  quite  loose 
and  open,  but  the  close-heading  varieties  are  better  and  the  more 
suitable  for  market  handling.  In  California  the  cabbage  varieties 
very  largely  preponderate  over  the  cos  varieties,  and  the  non-head- 
ing or  "cutting  lettuces,"  or  curled  varieties,  are  not  widely  grown, 
though  they  may  be  found  useful  in  getting  the  quickest  foliage  from 
the  seed  sowing.  It  should  be  noted  that  compared  with  the  cab- 
bage type,  the  cos  lettuce  is  hardier  and  less  susceptible  to  frost;  it 
also  shows  more  ability  to  withstand  drought  and  is  also  less  liable 
to  sunburn,  the  last  two  features  making  it  better  adapted  to  hot 
and  dry  localities,  while  the  first  is  one  which  especially  recommends 
its  use  as  a  late  kind.  And  yet  the  firm-heading  varieties  are  over- 
whelmingly superior  commercially  and  are  secured  by  growing 
them  in  different  districts  at  seasons  of  the  year  which  afford  the 


POPULAR  VARIETIES  OF  LETTUCE  205 

conditions  which  they  require.    The  following  are  popular  varieties 
in  California: 

Los  Angeles,  renamed  New  York  Market :  very  large,  round  head,  crisp, 
white,  good  flavor;  the  best  shipping  variety. 

Iceberg:  stands  heat  and  is  less  liable  to  go  to  seed;  resembles  Los 
Angeles  variety,  but  also  reddish  tinge  on  leaf-edges. 

California  Cream  Butter:  large,  solid,  round  heads,  light  green;  spotted 
and  tinged  with  brown ;  creamy  yellow  within ;  stands  heat  well,  particularly 
popular  for  autumn  and  winter  use;  resembles  Big  Boston. 

Big  Boston:  a  light  green  cabbage  variety  with  light  brown  tinge  to  the 
leaves;  largely  grown  in  the  south  for  northern  shipments;  forms  a  fine 
head,  endures  temperature  changes  well. 

May  King:  a  very  early,  quick  heading  variety,  colored  like  Big  Boston; 
good  for  spring  and  summer  use. 

White  Paris  Cos:  upright  grower,  with  long  head;  needs  tying  up  for 
blanching;  tender  and  crisp,  a  favorite  with  foreign  residents. 

Improved  Hanson :  heads  round,  very  solid  and  large,  green  outside  and 
white  within ;  flavor  fine ;  stands  heat  well ;  very  popular  for  house  gardens. 

Prize  Head:  an  early  variety  with  large,  loose  bunch,  remains  tender 
and  crisp  through  long  season;  flavor  excellent;  very  easily  grown. 

The  Morse:  large,  non-heading  variety  forming  large  bunch  of  loose 
leaves,  crisp  and  of  fine  flavor. 

Denver  Market:  early,  tight,  conical  head;  light  green,  leaves  curled 
and  crimped ;  crisp  and  tender ;  very  slow  to  go  to  seed. 

Early  Curled  Simpson :  an  early  non-heading  variety,  leaves  almost 
white  and  very  large;  stands  heat  well. 

Other  varieties  locally  offered  are  "Wonderful,"  commended 
in  southern  California ;  "Tennis  Ball,"  resembling  "California  Cream 
Butter"  but  smaller  and  pure  green;  "Marblehead,"  an  all-the-year 
variety  of  high  quality;  and  many  others  which  will  delight  the 
amateur. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 


MELONS. 

THE  CANTALOUP  OR  MUSKMELON. — Cucumis  melo. 
French,    melon;     German,    melone;    Dutch,    meloen;    Italian,    popone; 
Spanish,  melon;  Portuguese,  melao. 

THE  WATERMELON. — Citrullus  vulgaris. 

French,    melon    d'eau;     German,     wasser-melone ;     Italian,     cocomero; 
Spanish,  sandia;  Portuguese,  melamia. 

* 

From  the  manner  in  which  they  are  eaten  melons  should  be 
classed  with  fruits ;  from  the  manner  in  which  they  are  grown  they 
are  more  closely  related  to  vegetables.  Their  nearest  botanical  rel- 
atives, also,  are  of  the  vegetable  class.  They  evidently  cannot  be 
excluded  from  this  work  because  of  their  aspiration  to  rank  with 
the  fruits. 

California  is  characteristically  great  for  melons;  not  only  for 
their  great  size  and  excellence,  but  for  the  long  season  during 
which  they  are  available  for  table  use.  Their  delight  in  interior 
heat,  their  tolerance  of  drought,  their  immense  size,  when  both 
heat  and  moisture  combine  for  their  advancement,  constitute  ex- 
ceptional adaptations  for  semi-tropical  climates,  in  which  they  have 
been  famous  from  the  earliest  times.  California  answers  their 
needs  to  the  fullest  degree,  and  they  have  naturally  attained  great 
local  esteem  and  popularity.  The  length  of  the  f restless  season 
and  the  varying  degrees  of  spring  and  summer  heat  in  different 
parts  of  the  state  give  us  command  of  early  and  late  melons  be- 
yond that  of  any  other  part  of  the  country,  as  will  be  noted  pres- 
ently. For  this  reason  California  melons  have  during  the  last 
decade  and  a  half  figured  largely  in  national  trade  eastward  and  in 
shipment  to  northern  Pacific  ports.  California's  position  in  the 
melon  production  of  the  United  States  is  shown  by  the  Monthly 
Crop  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  for  June 
1917  to  be  as  follows: 

Acreage  of  cantaloups 17,300 

Products  in  crates  . . 3,206,700 

Of  this  acreage  and  product,  which  comprises  about  9000  car- 
loads, three-fourths  are  credited  to  the  Imperial  valley  and  one- 
fourth  to  the  San  Joaquin  valley.  California  produces  41  per  cent 
of  all  the  cantaloups  of  the  United  States  and  leads  all  the  states, 
her  nearest  rival  being  Georgia  wfth  6700  acres.  In  watermelons, 
however,  the  situation  is  reversed  and  Georgia  leads  the  country 
by  a  large  plurality  in  acreage  and  product.  An  ingenious  statis- 
tician has  figured  out  that  California's  total  cantaloup  crop  can 
[206] 


MUSKMELONS   AND   CANTALOUPS  207 

supply  every  individual  in  the  United  States  with  one  melon  each, 
leaving  fifteen  more  for  each  Calif ornian. 

THE  MUSKMELON. 

In  the  United  States  the  terms  "muskmelon"  and  "cantaloup" 
are  interchangeable,  and  in  California  cantaloup  is  given  the  prefer- 
ence. This  all  seems  somewhat  at  variance  with  European  practice, 
where  the  varieties  with  netted  coats  are  "muskmelons"  and  those 
with  scabby  or  knobby  skins  are  "rock  melons"  or  cantaloups.  Ac- 
cording to  this  classification,  the  varieties  we  chiefly  grow  in  Cali- 
fornia are  not  cantaloups  at  all,  but  it  will  be  difficult  to  have  them 
called  by  any  other  name.  Of  the  many  types  of  cantaloups  which 
have  been  defined  by  students  of  melon  classification  a  single  one, 
known  as  the  Rocky  Ford,  from  the  place  of  its  first  large  com- 
mercial development  in  Colorado,  dominates  all  others,  constituting 
almost  exclusively  the  commercial  production  except  that  which  is 
especially  grown  for  local  markets — aside,  of  course,  from  the 
winter  melons,  which  are  a  distinct  class,  as  will  be  noted  later. 

The  muskmelon  has  a  very  wide  range  in  California.  It  has 
greater  taste  for  dry  heat  than  its  relative,  the  cucumber,  but  in 
this  respect  it  is  no  rival  of  the  watermelon,  for  it  will  perish  utterly 
under  drought  which  the  watermelon  will  survive.  Where  the  musk- 
melon has  both  heat  and  moisture,  and  is  of  large  variety,  it  grows 
riotously,  for  a  weight  of  seventy-two  pounds  has  been  reported 
from  Fresno.  But  the  muskmelon  will  not  brook  frost,  nor  will  it 
thrive  with  low  temperatures  even  if  they  are  considerably  above 
freezing.  As  has  just  been  stated,  however,  California  has  such 
a  long  frost-free  period  and  as  degtees  of  favoring  heat  arrive  in 
different  months  in  different  parts  of  the  state,  there  is  wide  diverg- 
ence in  dates  of  planting  and  of  ripening  of  the  crop.  The  earliest 
cantaloup  district  is  the  Coachella  and  Imperial  valleys  in  the  ex- 
treme southeast  corner  of  the  state,  where  12,700  acres  were  grown 
in  1917.  Planting  is  done  in  February,  and  the  crop  shipment 
begins  in  May  and  reaches  the  eastern  markets  in  advance  of  the 
product  of  Colorado  and  other  interior  states.  In  the  San  Joaquin 
valley  planting  may  be  in  April  and  the  product  follows  the  Rocky 
Ford  shipments  for  the  later  summer  trade  of  the  Atlantic  cities. 
Just  what  trade  can  be  profitably  done  at  different  dates  in  the  East 
is  not  fully  determined,  but  the  advantage  of  the  very  early  canta- 
loup from  (California  seems  unquestioned.  It  is  clear,  however, 
that  by  choosing  different  parts  of  the  state  and  different  varieties 
of  cantaloups,  including  the  "winter  melon"  class,  California  can 
furnish  the  fruit  from  May  to  December  in  any  quantities  the 
available  price  makes  profitable. 

Garden  Culture. — The  soil^-equirements  of  the  muskmelon  are 
quite  like  those  already  described  for  the  cucumber.  Most  of  the 
commercial  crop  is  produced  on  deep,  rich,  warm  loams,  but  heavier 
soils  with  good  culture  may  be  used.  Some  varieties  seem  to  enjoy 


208  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

a  heavy  soil  better  than  others.  Preparation  of  the  soil  is  the  same 
as  for  cucumbers,  and  the  same  methods  for  starting  plants  for 
planting  out  as  well  as  for  furnishing  warmth  and  richness  in  the 
hill  may  be  used  in  garden  practice.  Growing  groups  of  seedlings 
in  small  receptacles  for  planting  out  in  hills  without  disturbing  the 
roots,  as  described  in  Chapter  XI,  is  a  good  way  to  get  an  early 
start.  In  the  interior,  on  the  naturally  rich  loams,  not  only  is  the 
culture  devoid  of  all  forcing  devices,  but  on  moist  river  bank  or 
bottom  soils  the  early  crop  is  sometimes  grown  without  irrigation. 
For  summer  planting  and  the  continuation  of  the  muskmelon  supply 
late  in  the  fall,  ample  moisture  is  necessary,  and  a  modification  of 
interior  heat  by  intrusion  of  coast  breezes  is  desirable.  The  late 
summer  product  is  most  easily  grown  in  the  coast  valleys,  somewhat 
protected  from  ocean  winds. 

FIELD  CULTURE  OF  CANTALOUPS. 

There  are  so  many  ways  of  handling  the  soil  to  secure  fine 
tillage  and  aeration  and  adequate  moisture  without  the  evil  of  sur- 
face flooding  that  it  can  be  hardly  claimed  that  any  one  routine  is 
best.  As  involving  tillage,  irrigation  by  percolation  and  fertiliza- 
tion, which  the  plant  enjoys  under  proper  conditions,  the  following 
outline,  condensed  from  the  writings  of  Dr.  R.  H.  Forbes,  of  the 
Arizona  Station,  is  very  suggestive  for  California  interior  valley 
conditions.  The  writer  has  made  some  additions  from  his  own 
observations :  Cantaloups  are  grown  to  excellent  advantage  on  light 
warm  loams  properly  fertilized  by  the  addition  of  the  organic  mat- 
ter and  nitrogen  in  which  our  desert  soils  are  usually  deficient. 
Heavy  soils  may  also  be  used  for  cantaloup  culture,  but  are  less 
easily  prepared  and  tilled  during  the  progress  of  the  crop.  Old 
alfalfa  ground  is  most  excellent  for  cantaloup  culture,  and  well- 
rotted  barnyard  manure  is  effective.  Bermuda  sod  plowed  up  and 
exposed  to  the  sun  without  irrigation  the  preceding  summer  makes 
excellent  cantaloup  ground,  the  intensive  cultivation  necessary  serv- 
ing both  to  benefit  the  crop  and  to  restrain  this  formidable  weed. 
Trash  from  sod-turning  can  be  reduced  by  the  use  of  a  disk. 

Alkaline  lands  should  be  avoided,  since  soluble  salts  in  excess, 
even  though  insufficient  to  kill  the  plants,  are  commonly  believed 
to  be  detrimental  to  the  quality  of  the  melons. 

The  land  should  be  so  laid  out  that  the  rows  may  be  irrigated 
without  submerging  the  vines  and  the  fruit.  One  good  way  to  ac- 
complish this,  and  also  to  fertilize  the  soil,  is  as  follows :  The  field 
is  first  irrigated,  plowed  and  harrowed  to  a  condition  of  fine  tilth. 
With  a  12-inch  plow,  at  intervals  of  six  feet,  double  furrows  are 
then  broken  out,  going  and  returning  along  the  same  lines.  In  the 
deep,  wide  furrows  thus  formed  well-rotted  barnyard  manure  is 
distributed  to  a  depth  of  three  or  four  inches,  then  plowed  in  and 
the  field  again  harrowed  level.  By  then  plowing  toward  the  mid- 
dle of  the  spaces  between  the  fertilized  furrows,  the  soil  is  finally 


IRRIGATION   OF   CANTALOUPS  209 

left  in  oval  ridges  separated  by  back  furrows  for  irrigation.  The 
rough  furrows  and  ridges  are  then  finished  with  a  harrow  and  the 
newly  prepared  ground  irrigated  to  establish  the  water  line  for 
guidance  in  planting. 

Seed  should  be  most  carefully  selected  with  reference  to  flavor 
and  appearance  of  the  fruit;  to  good  shipping  characters,  includ- 
ing small  cavities  and  heavy  netting;  and  to  a  tendency  to  produce 
melons  of  standard  size.  About  one  pound  of  seed  is  required  for 
an  acre.  Cantaloup  seed  improves  to  some  extent  with  time,  and 
is  stated  by  experienced  growers  to  give  more  satisfaction  at  two 
years  of  age  than  at  one. 

With  irrigating  furrows  six  feet  apart,  rows  may  be  planted 
one  on  each  side  of  each  furrow.  The  hills  should  be  ten  feet 
apart  in  the  rows,  "breaking  spaces"  between  rows.  On  this  plan 
the  ground  wrill  be  quite  uniformly  occupied,  with  a  distance  of 
about  six  feet  between  adjacent  hills.  Where  winds  are  strong 
and  prevalently  in  one  direction  it  is  sometimes  desirable  to  lay  off 
the  lands  at  right  angles  to  the  course  of  the  wind  and  plant  all 
the  hills  on  the  windward  side  of  each  strip  so  that  the  vines  are 
trained  by  the  wind  away  from  the  ditch  and  not  half  of  them 
blown  into  it. 

With  a  hoe  each  hill  is  planted  by  making  a  small  furrow  a 
foot  long  just  above  the  water  line,  made  by  the  preceding  irriga- 
tion which  places  the  hill  where  it  will  not  be  flooded  by  later  irri- 
gation. About  ten  seeds  are  dropped  in  this  furrow,  covered  an 
inch  deep,  and  the  soil  pressed  down  lightly  with  the  blade  of  the 
hoe.  After  early  plantings,  when  frosts  are  feared,  a  second  set 
of  hills  may  be  planted  alongside  the  first,  ten  days  or  two  weeks 
later.  When  danger  from  frost  is  past,  while  the  plants  are  still 
small  they  are  thinned  to  one  or  two  of  the  strongest  to  each  hill. 
Care  must  be  taken  not  to  overcrowd  the  ground  with  vines,  as  a 
high  percentage  of  small  melons  will  follow.  Under  Arizona  con- 
ditions the  six-foot  spacing  of  hills  recommended  above,  with  not 
more  than  two  plants  in  the  hill,  gives  best  results. 

A  dependable  supply  of  irrigating  water  is  essential  to  success- 
ful cantaloup  culture  in  regions  of  little  rain.  Early  in  the  season 
when  the  plants  are  small  and  the  irrigating  supply  is  cold,  water 
should  be  applied  sparingly.  But  between  the  setting  of  the  crop 
and  the  ripening,  of  the  first  fruits,  when  both  vines  and  melons  are 
developing  rapidly  and  when  the  weather  is  usually  hot  and  dry,  fre- 
quent and  copious  irrigation  is  necessary,  for  if  water  is  stinted  at 
this  time  a  larger  percentage  of  small  or  pony  melons  is  likely  to 
follow.  To  prevent  this,  even  during  the  picking  season,  water 
should  again  be  sparingly  applied — just  enough  to  prevent  the  vines 
from  wilting.  This  also  gives  quality  and  solidity  to  the  melons. 

As  long  as  the  vines  will  permit,  the  middles  should  be  kept 
free  of  weeds  by  means  of  a  one-horse  cultivator,  and  the  furrows 
run  through  with  a  small  plow  after  each  irrigation.  The  young 


210  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

plants  should  also  be  hoed  by  hand  two  or  three  times.  When  the 
ground  is  once  more  covered  with  vines  weeds  will  make  but  little 
headway,  even  Bermuda  grass  being  effectually  checked  by  the 
dense  cover. 

Imperial  Valley  Methods. — Alfalfa  land  is  preferred.  It  is  first 
plowed  three  or  four  inches  deep,  then  about  a  month  later  is 
plowed  seven  or  eight  inches  deep.  The  "hard"  finely  divided 
"gumbo"  soil  may  produce  larger  crops  if  properly  worked;  but 
the  "soft"  land  in  which  more  or  less  sand  makes  it  more  loamy 
and  warm,  produces  the  earliest. 

Wide  rounded  ridges  about  eight  feet  from  center  to  center 
are  made  with  narrow  furrows  between.  The  seed  is  planted  half 
way  up  one  side  of  each  of  these.  This  puts  the  roots  close  to 
irrigation  but  keeps  the  plants  out  of  it  largely,  and  spreads  them 
out  to  sun  and  air.  On  the  early  plantings,  some  of  which  are  put 
in  late  in  December  and  early  in  January,  a  pointed  cap  of  oiled 
paper  is  placed  over  each  hill  as  it  is  planted  by  hand  to  hold  the 
warmth  of  the  ground  and  protect  the  seedling  plants  from  frost. 
Later  plantings  are  done  by  machine  and  not  covered  with  the 
papers. 

The  cantaloups  are  irrigated  according  to  soil  conditions.  The 
ground  must  not  be  dried  very  deep.  In  hot  weather  it  dries  enough 
to  walk  on  in  the  day.  Water  is  not  allowed  to  cover  the  seeds  or 
get  around  the  plant  stems.  During  picking  especially,  water  is 
applied  every  three  or  four  days,  the  pickers  walking  on  the  ridges 
when  the  furrows  are  wet. 

Three  or  four  cultivations  are  all  that  can  be  given  on  account 
of  vine  growth.  To  control  aphis  burn  the  plants  on  and  all  around 
an  infected  area  as  soon  as  it  is  discovered,  usually  during  pick- 
ing time. 

Turlock  Methods — Early  in  January  the  land  is  plowed  eleven 
or  twelve  inches  deep  to  get  a  soil  reservoir  for  winter  rains  and 
to  turn  under  the  manure,  which  is  applied  thinly  all  over  rather 
than  heavily  on  a  part  each  season.  Strawy  manure  is  likely  to 
"burn  out  the  ground"  in  this  sandy  soil  and  should  be  worked  in 
well  and  deep.  The  next  plowing  is  six  or  seven  inches  deep  early 
in  March,  just  before  planting  time,  which  is  about  March  15  if  the 
soil  is  warm  and  the  rains  over.  If  rains  crust  the  soil  it  must  be 
broken  with  a  light  spike  harrow  even  if  some  plants  are  injured. 

It  is  customary  to  omit  every  ninth  row  for  a  driveway  for  con- 
venience in  picking  season,  but  it  may  be  better  to  plant  all  rows 
and  break  driveways  crosswise  with  a  harrow,  just  far  enough 
apart,  about  10  rods,  so  that  a  picker  commencing  at  one  drive 
would  pick  a  row  and  arrive  at  the  next  drive  with  his  sack  full. 
It  would  be  dumped  there,  and  he  would  proceed  on  across  the 
field.  In  the  old  way  the  pickers  climb  over  several  rows  to  un- 
load into  crates  in  the  drive.  This  damaged  the  vines,  reduced  the 
later  settings  of  melons,  and  wasted  the  picker's  time. 


WAYS  WITH   CANTALOUPS  211 

Much  seed  is  sprouted  before  planting  but  care  must  be  taken 
not  to  start  long  sprouts.  The  seed  are  put  in  a  sack,  soaked  about 
12  hours,  flattened  out  not  over  an  inch  thick  so  they  won't  over- 
heat, and  buried  in  sand.  They  sprout  in  two  or  three  days,  de- 
pending on  the  heat,  and  must  be  planted  at  once.  The  field  is  har- 
rowed two  or  three  times  before  the  plants  are  up. 

Seeds  are  planted  by  machine  thickly  in  drills  six  feet  apart. 
If  plants  are  very  thick,  they  are  thinned  with  a  hoe  as  soon  as  they 
come  up;  but  later  if  not  so  thick.  The  final  thinning  comes  about 
June  1,  when  the  vines  average  a  foot  long,  showing  which  are 
strongest.  These  are  left  as  nearly  as  convenient  three  feet  apart. 

If  continued  cultivation  does  not  keep  the  vines  growing,  they 
need  water.  This  is  given  through  a  furrow  in  each  center.  Plenty 
of  time  is  allowed  for  a  thorough  soaking,  but  no  water  is  allowed 
to  touch  the  plants,  because  that  would  bake  the  soil  around  them. 
Several  rows  may  be  irrigated  at  once  with  a  small  stream.  Within 
two  or  three  days  the  ground  is  cultivated.  One  such  irrigation  and 
two  cultivations  may  be  given  before  the  vines  run  into  the  way. 

Growing  Plants  in  Hot-beds. — Some  growers  think  that  grow- 
ing plants  in  hot-beds  to  get  a  good  stand  is  worth  while.  In  one 
case  there  were  only  forty  hills  missed  in  more  than  six  acres. 
Thrifty  growth  was  made  and  some  plants  in  bloom  while  plants 
from  seed  on  the  same  ground  were  just  coming  up  from  planting 
on  the  same  date.  Small  pasteboard  folding  cases  were  used  to 
grow  the  plants  in  and  the  case  removed  when  the  plant  was  in 
place,  just  before  filling  in  around  it. 

Pruning  for  Early  Fruit. — J.  E.  Johnson,  of  Los  Angeles  county, 
believes  he  can  ripen  cantaloups  a  week  or  ten  days  earlier  by  prun- 
ing. He  prunes  the  tips  off  with  a  corn  knife  when  the  vines  are 
five  or  six  joints  long.  This  makes  them  throw  earlier  laterals 
which  bear  fruit.  When  the  laterals  have  grown  a  joint  or  two 
beyond  the  fruit  of  the  first  crop  which  will  already  have  set,  he 
prunes  off  their  tips  with  a  quick  sweep  of  the  corn  knife  around 
the  hill.  It  does  not  pay  to  prune  for  the  second  crop,  which  would 
have  to  compete  with  the  general  first-crop  run  from  unpruned 
fields. 

Cantaloups  in  Young  Orchard. — H.  S.  Reed,  of  Imperial,  thinks 
cantaloups  are  one  of  the  very  best  summer  intercrops.  They  shade 
the  ground,  and  the  frequent  irrigation  they  require  is  good  also 
for  the  trees.  He  took  off  228  crates  of  cantaloups  per  acre  when 
the  trees  were  one  and  two  years  old,  and  followed  them  with  a 
winter  crop  of  Bermuda  onions.  Of  these  he  got  240  crates  per 
acre,  which  sold  at  $1.40  to  $1.55  per  crate.  The  winter  crop  would 
be  feasible  many  years,  but  summer  crops  would  soon  suffer  from 
too  much  shade  from  the  growing  trees. 

How  to  Tell  a  Ripe  Cantaloup. — The  fruit  is  ripe  for  shipping 
when  there  are  cracks  about  the  base  of  the  stem,  which  comes  off 
with  a  little  pressure  of  the  thumb,  leaving  a  smooth  "cup"  in  the 


212  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

melon.  If  too  green,  sharp  pieces  of  the  stem  will  remain  in  the 
cup.  The  netting  on  an  unripe  melon  is  flattened,  but  when  it  has 
sugared  up  and  ripened  enough  the  netting  will  be  full  rounded 
clear  up  to  the  stem  if  there  is  any  netting  that  far. 

Varieties. — The  wonderful  advancement  of  the  cantaloup  as  a 
commercial  product  has  quickened  effort  for  new  varieties  and  given 
new  incentive  to  sharp  selection  to  secure  characters  likely  to  facili- 
tate long  shipment  or  to  increase  the  demand.  Relatively  small  size, 
symmetrical  form,  thickness  of  flesh  and  reduction  of  the  seed- 
cavity,  durability,  flavor  and  color  of  flesh  are  among  the  improve- 
ments which  have  been  diligently  sought.  Each  year  brings  for- 
ward something  new  and  worthy  of  trial  to  determine  local  be- 
havior and  suitability.  Obviously  a  book  which  aims  to  be  useful 
for  a  number  of  years  after  its  publication  cannot  satisfactorily 
serve  as  a  guide  to  choice  of  varieties  which  are  constantly  chang- 
ing. Annual  catalogues  of  California  seedsmen  should  be  carefully 
consulted  and  promising  novelties  should  be  tried  on  a  small  scale. 

Rocky  Ford:  The  variety  upon  which  the  Colorado  cantaloup  industry 
was  established  and  it  sustains  the  same  relation  to  the  commercial  product 
of  California;  developed  by  selection  from  the  old  "Netted  Gem";  slightly 
oval,  finely  netted,  average  weight  \l/2  pounds;  flesh  green,  thick  and  very 
sweet.  Continued  selection  is  being  practiced  upon  this  variety  and  "Netted 
Rock"  has  been  favored  in  this  state  on  the  claim  of  heavy  bearing  and 
greater  average  production  of  standard  melons.  In  the  Turlock  district 
"Pollock's  25  Rust  Resistant"  is  chiefly  grown.  This  is  also  grown  in 
Imperial  valley  with  "Yellow  Pink"  and  "Greenflesh"  also  in  favor,  which 
are  standard  varieties  in  the  valley. 

Burrell's  Gem :  Larger  than  Rocky  Ford ;  flesh  reddish  and  of  different 
flavor;  an  improved  Paul  Rose,  which  it  has  largely  displaced. 

Hoodoo:  slightly  flatter  than  Rocky  Ford  but  otherwise  similar;  flesh 
reddish. 

Large  Yellow:  an  old  variety,  large  oblong,  slightly  ribbed  and  coarsely 
netted;  flesh  light,  yellowish  green;  quality  excellent;  still  popular  though 
very  different  from  modern  commercial  types. 

California  Large  Nutmeg:  an  old  variety  still  popular  in  local  markets 
and  good  for  shipping;  large,  rough,  netted  skin;  flesh  thick,  solid,  dark 
green;  flavor  delicate. 

Monteral  Improved  Green  Nutmeg:  large,  slightly  flattened  at  the  poles, 
densely  netted  skin,  flesh  thick  and  of  good  flavor. 

Early  Hackensack:   large  size,  productive,  excellent  flavor. 

Large  Hackensack:  large  size,  roundish,  very  prolific,  thick,  juicy  flesh, 
rich  in  flavor. 

Tip  Top:  nearly  round,  lightly  ribbed  and  netted,  skin  light  and  flesh 
deep  yellow. 

The  small,  early  varieties,  like  Jenny  Lind,  are  not  largely 
grown,  as  the  trade  prefers  the  large  nutmeg  varieties.  The  small 
varieties  are,  however,  very  desirable  for  home  use. 

CASSABAS  OR  WINTER  CANTALOUPS. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  and  promising  phases  of  melon 
growing  in  California  is  the  advancement  of  the  "winter  melon," 
comprising  several  types,  of  which  the  first  to  reach  California  was 


CALIFORNIA   WINTER  MELONS  213 

the  Cassaba  or  pineapple  melon  which  was  introduced  in  two  vari- 
eties: one  by  the  late  General  Bidwell,  of  Chico,  in  1869,  and 
another  by  the  late  Dr.  J.  D.  B.  Stillman  in  1878.  Of  these  the 
latter  has  secured  the  greater  popularity.  Later  introductions  and 
selections  and  probably  hybridizations  also,  have  brought  half  a 
dozen  quite  distinct  varieties  into  notice  and  a  considerable  product 
has  been  secured  both  for  local  sale  and  distant  shipment  during  the 
late  autumn  and  early  winter.  Which  varieties  will  survive  cannot 
be  told  and  in  this  line  California  seedsmen's  catalogues  must  be 
consulted  each  year.  Mr.  H.  T.  Musser,  of  Los  Angeles,  is  the 
best  informed  Californian  on  this  group  of  melons.  On  irrigated 
lands  in  frostless  places  these  melons  can  be  sown  in  mid-summer 
and  find  ample  autumn  heat  and  freedom  from  frost  to  reach  per- 
fection. The  ripe  fruit  remains  in  good  condition  for  months  with- 
out cold  storage.  They  can  be  stored  in  the  shade  of  a  shed.  Even 
if  the  exterior  becomes  ill-looking  the  flesh  remains  sound  usually. 

Though  these  winter  melons  can  be  grown  wherever  other 
melons  succeed,  the  chief  commercial  product  comes  from  the 
Dinuba  district  on  the  east  side  of  the  San  Joaquin  valley  and  from 
Los  Angeles  and  Orange  counties.  They  are  usually  planted  later 
than  summer  cantaloups,  say  in  May  and  June,  and  are  given  a 
little  wider  spacing. 

The  Golden  Beauty  and  Winter  Pineapple  are  late  varieties 
which  may  be  kept  in  storage  until  February.  These  do  not  ma- 
ture as  early  as  the  hybrids  with  the  summer  cantaloups  of  which 
there  are  a  number.  The  Honey  Dew  is  getting  famous  for  fine 
grain  and  good  flavor.  Good  eating  condition  in  cassabas  is  shown 
by  slight  yielding  under  thumb  pressure. 

THE  WATERMELON. 

The  watermelon  is  more  strictly  a  warm  region  plant  than  the 
muskmelon.  It  reaches  great  size  and  sweetness  in  interior  regions 
of  highest  heat,  coming  nearer  to  the  coast  in  southern  California 
than  in  the  upper  part  of  the  state.  The  heat  is,  however,  high 
enough  in  some  of  the  coast  valleys  and  foothills,  which  are  in 
some  part  separated  from  the  coast  by  high  ranges,  to  produce  a 
very  good  watermelon. 

The  gratefulness  of  the  interior  climate  of  California  to  the 
watermelon  is  seen  in  the  way  the  plants  volunteer  wherever  on 
cultivated  land  a  melon  may  have  gone  to  decay.  In  cultivated 
orchard  they  may  almost  be  called  weeds,  though  sometimes  the 
volunteer  crop  is  turned  to  account.  A  case  is  cited  where  water- 
melons were  planted  between  the  trees  in  a  young  orchard.  After  the 
melons  were  harvested,  and  before  the  volunteer  crop  appeared  the 
following  year,  the  ground  was  plowed  twice,  harrowed  twice,  and 
cultivated  four  times  in  the  regular  course  of  orchard  work.  Not- 
withstanding all  this  disturbance  of  the  soil,  the  seeds,  which  re- 
mained in  the  ground  during  the  warm  rains  of  winter  and  spring, 


214  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

did  not  sprout  until  June — considerably  later  than  seed  sown  that 
year,  and  produced  as  good  a  crop  as  the  latter.  Being,  probably, 
deeply  covered  they  awaited  the  penetration  of  the  warmth,  which 
came  first  to  the  seed  sown  near  the  surface.  The  soil  was  a  light 
loam,  naturally  well  drained,  and  the  seed  abided  its  time  in  good 
condition. 

Soils. — Soils  which  best  suit  the  watermelon  are  warm  alluvial 
soils,  and  the  plant  thrives  on  a  lighter,  drier  soil  than  suits  the 
muskmelon.  It  does  well  on  a  light  soil  with  a  retentive  sub-soil, 
which  acts  as  a  reservoir  of  moisture.  In  such  a  case  the  surface 
soil  may  be  coarse  or  even  gravelly.  Good  specimens  have  been 
shown  which  have  been  grown  without  irrigation  on  recent  deposits 
of  mining  detritus;  on  the  other  hand,  good  melons  are  grown  on 
rather  stiff  clay  loam.  On  heavy  land  much  is  gained  by  plowing 
under  a  winter-grown  sod  or  green  crop,  or  a  covering  of  manure, 
which  renders  the  soil  more  permeable  as  well  as  enriches  it.  The 
plant  seems  to  tolerate  many  conditions,  but  neither  cold  nor  wet 
agrees  with  it. 

Culture. — The  preparation  of  land  for  watermelons  is  like  that 
for  cantaloups,  already  described.  In  regions  of  heavy  rainfall  the 
fall  plowing  should  be  done  with  enough  dead  furrows  to  remove 
surplus  water  so  that  the  spring  plowing  may  not  be  delayed  by 
wetness.  Two  spring  plowings  and  pulverizations  are  desirable  on 
the  heavier  soils. 

Firming  the  seed-bed  below  the  plant  is  very  important  so  that 
moisture  may  rise  to  it  from  the  subsoil.  This  is  done  by  follow- 
ing the  January  or  February  plowing  with  a  disc  with  the  plates  set 
straight  and  weighted  with  sand  bags  to  make  them  cut  deep  and 
to  close  all  underground  openings.  This  is  done  twice  in  winter 
and  is  followed  through  the  spring  with  spiketooth  harrows  and 
weed  cutters,  often  alternately,  to  make  a  fine  mulch  about  three 
inches  deep  over  the  firm  capillary  seed-bed,  soil  from  which  will 
ball  in  the  hand,  while  without  this  sub-surface  packing,  the  soil 
will  be  dry  all  the  way  down.  If  the  soil  is  sandy  and  inclined  to 
blow  the  surface  must  not  be  made  too  fine.  Wind  damage  can 
be  reduced  by  sowing  rye  in  strips  about  forty  feet  apart — planting 
four  rows  of  melons  between  them.  Such  protection  from  cold 
winds  may  bring  ripe  melons  a  week  earlier.  The  rye  strips  make 
driveways  for  picking.  They  should  be  plowed  up,  when  the  rye 
ripens  in  May,  to  check  evaporation.  The  melon  roots  extend  into 
the  rye  ground  if  it  is  not  allowed  to  dry  out  too  much. 

Irrigation. — Watermelons  root  deeply  and  on  deep  open  soils 
free  from  plow-pan  or  hard-pan  will  supply  themselves  with  moist- 
ure from  below  if  the  soil  preparation  has  been  of  the  right  kind 
and  the  rainfall  adequate.  If  not,  irrigation  must  be  employed  in 
good  soaking  amounts,  on  light  soil  which  takes  them  well,  and  not 
too  frequently. 


GROWING   WATERMELONS  215 

The  land  is  laid  off  with  a  marker  in  eight  or  ten  feet  squares 
or  six  by  eight  and  eight  by  ten  feet,  and  planted,  after  danger  from 
frost  is  over  and.  the  ground  is  warm,  with  10  or  12  seeds  in  a 
place  to  cover  accidents  and  insects.  These  are  reduced  at  the  first 
hoeing  to  one  or  two  plants  in  a  place.  The  cultivator  should  be 
used  as  soon  as  possible  to  prevent  crusting  of  the  soil,  and  cultiva- 
tion should  be  kept  up  until  it  interferes  too  much  with  the  growth 
of  the  vines.  During  the  first  two  months  of  their  growth  the  cul- 
tivator is  almost  constantly  running  in  the  melon  field. 

Time  of  planting  is,  of  course,  dependent  upon  the  frost  record 
of  the  locality.  To  get  the  earliest  melons,  growers  often  take  the 
chance  of  replanting  by  planting  in  March  if  it  is  an  early  spring 
and  the  soil  is  in  good  condition.  In  light  interior  soils  the  most 
of  the  planting  is  done  in  April,  and  in  frosty  situations  early  in 
May.  For  succession,  planting  can  proceed  on  moist  or  irrigated 
land  until  July,  and  in  f  rostless  locations  July  planting  will  give  ripe 
melons  as  late  as  New  Year's. 

Harvesting. — When  early  sowings  succeed,  melons  can  be  had 
in  June  in  the  interior,  but  the  weight  of  the  crop  comes  in  July  or 
August.  An  average  yield  in  field  culture  is  one  carload,  or  one 
hundred  dozen  melons  to  the  acre.  Sizes  run  from  a  common  mer- 
chantable size  of  20  pounds  up  to  a  monster  of  131^4  pounds, 
grown  in  Los  Angeles  county  many  years  ago.  Melons  of  90  to  100 
pounds  have  been  reported  from  all  regions  which  make  any  pre- 
tentions  to  greatness  in  this  line. 

When  is  a  Watermelon  Ripe? — Various  tests  are  proposed. 
One  is  the  color  of  the  curling  tendril  on  the  vine  opposite  the  stem. 
When  this  becomes  brown  and  hard  the  melon  is  ripe.  The  same 
is  said  to  be  the  case  when  the  white  under-color  becomes  yellowish. 
But  we  have  the  assurance  of  commercial  growers  that  by  thump- 
ing a  melon  or  looking  at  the  curl  anybody  stands  a  good  chance  to 
pick  it  green,  -except  after  it  is  dead  ripe,  which  is  too  late  to  ship 
it.  But  when  you  slap  a  ripe  melon  with  the  open  hand,  or  catch 
it  as  it  is  tossed  from  man  to  man  by  car  loaders,  if  it  springs  un- 
der the  hand  it  is  ripe.  If  it  is  hard  and  does  not  give,  it  is  green. 
If  it  gives  out  a  dead,  hollow  sound,  it  is  dead  ripe.  Most  of  the 
varieties  turn  a  lighter  color  when  ripe  and  develop  irregular, 
slight  creasing  of  the  rind. 

Stock  Melons. — Excess  crop  or  defective  watermelons  and  can- 
taloups are  freely  used  for  stock  feeding.  There  is  also  especially 
grown  for  stock  the  pie-melon  or  citron-melon,  which  is  sometimes 
called  a  "citron."  This  word  should,  however,  never  be  used  in  this 
state  without  the  suffix  "melon,"  because  the  citron  is  an  ancient 
and  honorable  citrus  fruit,  which  we  are  growing  on  trees.  The 
name  of  this  fruit  was  probably  connected  with  a  melon  because 
in  cold  countries  they  make  a  preserve  of  the  rind  which  has  a 
fancied  resemblance  to  the  citron  of  commerce  which  is  made  of 
the  skin  of  the  fruit. 


216  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Citron  melons  are  of  low  nutritive  value  but  serve  a  good  pur- 
pose. In  one  hundred  pounds  of  them  there  are  0.7  of  one  pound 
of  digestible  protein,  3.3  pounds  of  digestible  carbohydrates  and 
0.2  pound  fat,  which,  giving  a  true  value  to  the  fat,  means  4.5 
pounds  of  nutrients.  Alfalfa  hay  contains  approximately  53  pounds 
of  nutrients  to  the  one  hundred  pounds,  counting  the  fat  in  the 
same  way,  making  the  alfalfa  about  twelve  times  as  good,  weight 
for  weight.  However,  an  added  benefit  to  the  citron  melons  comes 
in  the  fact  that  they  are  a  succulent  food  and  have  an  excellent 
physiological  effect  aside  merely  from  the  food  content.  This  suc- 
culency  makes  it  very  good  with  alfalfa  hay  or  bean  straw,  with 
which  it  makes  a  balanced  ration.  Rotten  melons  are,  however, 
dangerous  to  stock.  Probably  much  of  the  evil  attributed  to  melons 
is  due  to  this  fact. 

Watermelon  Varieties. — Everything  offered  by  seedsmen  in  the 
form  of  an  improved  watermelon  is  quickly  put  into  California  soil. 
The  result  is  that  in  the  state  as  a  whole  very  many  varieties  are 
grown,  probably  as  many  as  of  any  single  garden  plant.  Still,  a  few 
varieties  are  easily  leading  in  popularity.  The  following  have  com- 
mended themselves  to  California  growers: 

Angeleno:  believed  to  be  of  California  origin;  dark  green,  roundish, 
bright  red  flesh,  thin  rind;  excellent  shipper  and  largely  grown.  Seed  must 
be  soaked  to  close  cracks  before  planting.  Standard  variety  white  seeded 
but  selections  with  black  and  brown  seeds  are  being  introduced ;  long  bearer, 
apt  to  be  busy  until  frost. 

Florida  Favorite:  large,  oblong,  deep  green,  mottled;  good  flavor  and 
a  good  midseason  variety  and  a  good  shipper. 

Fordhook  Early :  very  early,  medium  size,  globular,  tough,  deep  mottled 
green  rind,  red  flesh;  good  for  early  shipping. 

Cuban  Queen:  large,  symmetrical,  solid,  rind  thin  and  strong,  striped 
with  dark  and  light  green,  flesh  red,  tender  and  very  sweet,  vine  very  strong 
in  growth  and  productive.  Melons  keep  well  and  ship  well. 

Kolb  Gem :  round,  dark  green,  with  light  green  stripes,  which  are  nar- 
row and  of  dull  color,  fair  size,  flesh  bright  red  and  good  flavor,  tough  rind 
and  a  good  shipper. 

Iceberg :  like  Kolb  Gem,  but  darker  green  and  flesh  deep  red ;  a  good 
shipper. 

Southern  Rattlesnake:  oblong,  light  green,  beautifully  striped,  thin  rind, 
flesh  scarlet,  solid  and  very  sweet. 

Lodi:  large,  solid,  light  green,  flesh  deep  red,  rich  and  delicious,  and 
extending  to  within  half  an  inch  of  the  rind.  For  many  years  this  variety 
almost  controlled  California  markets  but  is  now  but  little  grown. 

Chilian :  oblong,  deep  green,  mottled  and  striped,  flesh  bright  red,  sweet 
and  high  quality;  good  for  home  use  because  of  thin,  brittle  rind. 

Kleckley  Sweet:  medium  sized,  oval,  dark  green,  flesh  bright  red,  high 
quality,  largely  grown  for  home  use  and  shipping. 

Ice  Cream:   very  large,  long,  solid  deep  green,  flesh  yellow. 

Excel:  newly  introduced  and  making  a  record  for  size  and  large  yield, 
both  in  southern  and  central  California,  and  promising  for  long  shipment; 
early  ripening. 

Tom  Watson:  dark  green  mottled;  oblong,  flesh  scarlet,  thick  core;  apt 
to  be  over-large ;  rather  late. 

Klondike:  high  quality,  thin  rind  and  very  tender  flesh;  chiefly  grown 
in  southern  California  and  very  popular  in  local  trade,  also  held  to  be  a 
good  shipper;  very  small  seed. 


CHAPTER    XXV. 

THE  ONION  FAMILY. 

ONION. — Allium  cepa. 

French,  ognon;  German,  zwiebel;  Dutch,  uijen;  Danish,  voglog;  Italian, 
cipolla;  Spanish,  cebolla;  Portuguese,  cebola. 

LEEK. — Allium  porrum. 

French,  poireau ;  German,  lauch ;  Dutch,  prei ;  Danish,  porre ;  Italian, 
porro;  Spanish,  puerro;  Portuguese,  alho  porro. 

GARLIC. — Allium  sativum. 

French,  ail;  German,  knoblauch;  Dutch,  knoflook;  Danish,  hvidlog; 
Italian,  aglio;  Spanish,  ajo;  Portuguese,  alho. 

CHIVES. — Allium  schoenoprasum. 

French,  ciboulette,  civette;  German,  schnittlauch ;  Dutch,  bieslook;  Ital- 
ian, cipollina;  Spanish,  cebollino. 

CIBOULE. — Allium  fistulosum. 

French,  ciboule;  German,  schnitt-zwiebel ;  Dutch,  bieslook;  Danish,  pur- 
log;  Italian,  cipolleta;  Spanish,  cebolleta;  Portuguese,  cebolinah. 

SHALLOT. — Allium  ascalonicum. 

French,  echalote;  German,  schalotte;  Dutch,  sjalot;  Danish,  skalottelog; 
Italian,  scalogno;  Spanish,  chalote;  Portuguese,  echalota. 

The  onion  is  another  of  the  great  vegetables  in  California — 
great  in  the  size  of  the  tubers  and  in  the  crop,  great  also  in  the 
ease  with  which  a  constant  supply  of  fresh  onions  can  be  secured 
throughout  the  year  in  the  open  air;  greater  still,  perhaps,  in  the 
fact  that  the  superb  local  conditions  for  onion-seed  growing  have 
given  California  almost  the  monopoly  of  the  onion-seed  trade  of  the 
United  States,  and  we  have  sometimes  produced  more  seed  than 
could  be  sold  with  profit  to  the  growers.  Though  the  local  con- 
sumption of  onions,  in  proportion  to  the  population,  is  large,  and 
though  there  is  *an  export  trade  in  all  directions,  there  is  now  and 
then  an  over-production  and  a  reaction  even  to  scarcity,  so  that 
the  market  price  is  subject  to  wide  fluctuations.  A  more  trust- 
worthy demand  would  develop  a  producing  capacity  which  has  thus 
far  hardly  been  entered  upon  although  during  recent  years  distant 
shipment  of  onions  has  notably  increased.  And  yet  this  is  a  mat- 
ter in  which  great  expectations  may  not  be  realized.  In  1917,  be- 
cause of  a  great  shipping  demand  owing  to  a  partial  failure  of  the 
eastern  crop  of  1916  and  to  great  exhortation  to  produce  war  foods, 
California  onion  acreage  was  increased  to  13,000  acres  against  6100 
acres  in  1916.  From  an  extreme  high  of  $12  per  ctl.  in  March, 
1917,  the  price  broke  to  $0.75  in  July  and  much  disappointment  re- 
sulted. Even  without  war  issues  onions  are  subject  to  wide  fluctua- 

[217] 


218  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

tion  as  the  price  per  ctl.  in  San  Francisco  for  each  month  for  the 
decade  1907  to  1916  shows,  as  follows: 

Average  Average  Actual  Actual 

Month                              Low  High  Low  High 

January    $1.14  $1.37  $0.40  $2.60 

February  1.64  1.93  .50  3.50 

March    1.73  2.02  .50  3.40 

April    2.03  2.80  .50  4.00 

May    2.00  2.83  .50  5.00 

June   1.22  1.90  .60  3.75 

July    1.24  1.65  .25  4.25 

August    98  1.14  .35  2.60 

September    84  .97  .40  2.50 

October   84  .98  .40  2.00 

November    1.08  1.19  .40  3.00 

December    1.19  1.42  .25  3.25 

Though  wide  fluctuations  and  producing  dangers  are  thus 
shown,  well  planned  enterprise  to  produce  early  onions  to  fill  out 
the  eastern  spring  supply  is  warranted  in  places  where  the  crop 
comes  early.  About  1000  carloads  of  the  Bermuda  type  of  onions 
are  annually  shipped  to  interstate  markets,  principally  from  Coa- 
chella  and  Imperial  valleys.  These  onions  move  from  April  to 
July.  The  total  onion  product  of  the  state  for  the  last  few  years 
has  been  about  3,500,000  bushels  from  about  8000  acres. 

Though  local  conditions  are  favorable,  and  almost  incredible 
returns  are  sometimes  secured,  onion  growing  is  exacting  in  its  re- 
quirements in  California,  as  everywhere,  and  the  crop  is  one  which 
no  one  should  undertake  without  adequate  resources  of  energy, 
patience,  promptness  and  elasticity — either  in  his  back  or  in  his 
pocketbook.  No  matter  how  well  suited  his  soil,  or  how  good  his 
stand  of  young  plants  upon  it,  a  few  days'  neglect  may  put  them  out 
of  sight  in  a  forest  of  weeds,  from  which  they  cannot  be  profitably 
rescued.  Still,  to  the  diligent  grower  who  can  command  suitable 
soil  and  the  labor  needed  at  a  certain  time,  and  is  prompt  and  per- 
sistent in  the  use  of  it,  there  is  always  the  promise  of  as  fair  a  crop 
as  man  needs  to  see,  for  the  climate  not  only  favors  growth,  ma- 
turing and  harvesting,  but  it  gives  the  plant  freedom  from  many 
pests  and  diseases,  which  are  grievous  in  other  countries. 

Situations  and  Soils. — The  onion  is  profited  by  a  long  growing 
season.  It  grows  most  luxuriantly  and  its  bulb  expands  most  freely 
in  a  moderate  temperature  and  with  a  good  moisture  supply.  It 
endures  heat  well,  if  moisture  is  ample;  it  is  easily  forced  into 
maturity  by  drought,  and  though  it  is  fortunate  in  some  respects, 
that  the  bulb  has  the  power  to  renew  its  growth  and  reach  full  size 
with  the  renewal  of  moisture,  this  is  little  consolation  to  the  grower 
who  aimed  at  a  crop  of  marketable  onions,  not  of  onion  sets.  It  is 
important,  then,  that  the  growth  of  the  plant  be  not  arrested  in  this 
way,  and,  to  assure  this,  moisture  must  be  adequate  until  satis- 
factory size  is  attained.  Land  naturally  moist,  or  in  which  a  good 


CALIFORNIA   ONION    GROWING  219 

supply  may  be  retained  by  cultivation,  or  for  which  irrigation  is 
available  to  counteract  natural  tendency  to  dryness,  is  necessary  for 
the  full  success  of  the  onion  as  a  mature  crop.  In  the  winter,  if 
rains  are  up  to  the  average,  very  good  growth  of  green  onions  can 
be  had  on  land  which  is  too  dry  in  summer  to  carry  the  bulb  to  full- 
sized  maturity.  For  satisfactory  summer  finishing  of  the  crop,  soils 
which  are  prone  to  dry  out  must  be  avoided,  unless  irrigation  is 
available.  How  this  matter  is  affected  by  methods  of  propagation 
will  appear  presently. 

If  the  needed  moisture  can  be  afforded,  onions  can  be  well 
grown  on  a  variety  of  soils.  Quite  heavy  adobe  can  be  made  to  do, 
but  it  will  be  at  the  cost  of  much  thorough  cultivation,  producing 
tilth  which  is  difficult  and  expensive  to  attain  on  such  soil.  Every 
addition  of  sand  or  silt  to  the  adobe  improves  it  in  this  respect,  and 
the  ideal  soil  for  the  onion  is  one  which  is  retentive  enough  under 
cultivation  to  keep  the  plant  roots  from  a  touch  of  drought,  and 
friable  enough  to  be  easy  in  cultivation  and  easy  also  for  the  ex- 
panding bulb  to  displace  as  it  grows.  The  bulb  should  expand  on 
the  ground  surface,  not  under  it,  and  it  is  very  difficult  to  secure 
this  on  a  clay  without  baking  of  the  surface,  which  dries  the  roots 
and  results  in  prematurity  and  small  size  in  the  bulb.  On  the  other 
hand,  sandy  soil  is  usable  only  at  a  cost  of  frequent  irrigation,  for 
it  also  loses  surface  moisture  in  spite  of  stirring.  Besides  suitable 
mechanical  condition  of  the  soil,  it  is  essential  that  it  shall  be  rich 
in  plant  food.  Onions  resent  a  poor  soil.  Fortunately  California 
has  large  areas  of  loam,  of  mixed  peat  and  sediment,  and  of  allu- 
vial soils,  which  are  so  rich  that  many  onion  crops  can  be  grown 
without  fertilizing,  but  in  garden  work  the  free  use  of  manure  is 
the  secret  of  quick,  tender  and  large  size,  both  in  the  green  and 
mature  onion.  But  the  use  of  fresh  manure  just  before  planting  is 
not  desirable,  and  even  well-rotted  manure  should  be  applied  several 
months  in  advance  of  planting,  that  it  may  become  thoroughly  in- 
corporated with  the  soil. 

The  great  onion  regions  of  the  state  are  the  lower  stretches  of 
the  rich  coast  valley,  the  moist  river  lands  in  the  interior,  and 
the  winter  crop  in  the  so-called  "desert"  lands  of  the  Coachella  and 
Imperial  valleys,  where  the  crop  is  grown  by  irrigation.  Other- 
wise onions  are  grown  largely  by  rainfall  and  natural  seepage.  Fine 
onions  are  also  grown  on  upland  loams,  wt'ch  or  without  irrigation, 
according  to  local  climatic  conditions.  All  these  classes  of  lands 
occur  in  large  areas  throughout  the  state. 

Propagation  of  the  Onion. — The  onion  is  grown  here,  as  else- 
where, by  three  main  lines  of  propagation:  from  seed  sown  in  the 
field,  from  transplanting  seedlings  and  from  sets.  The  last  is  by 
far  the  least  important  in  California,  and  the  choice  between  the 
other  two  depends  upon  the  special  end  in  view,  as  will  appear  in 
the  discussion  of  them. 


220  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

The  Crop  from  Seed. — In  this  case  the  growth  is  to  be  pushed 
continuously  on  the  same  ground  from  seed  to  sack.  The  main 
crop  is  grown  in  this  way,  and  for  this  method  California  has  mani- 
fest advantage  in  its  long  growing  season.  The  winter-grown  crop 
for  early  spring  and  early  summer  sale  is  started  in  October  and 
November  on  land  deeply  moistened  by  irrigation  or  fall  rains,  and 
for  the  fall  or  main  crop  seed  may  be  sown  as  early  as  February 
for  the  onion  is  hardy  against  our  valley  frosts.  The  winter-started 
crop  on  retentive  soils  is  carried  through  with  moisture  held  by 
summer  cultivation,  or  on  coarser  soils  by  irrigation  and  cultivation, 
until  the  bulbs  reach  as  large  a  size  as  is  desirable  for  marketing. 

For  seed-sowing  the  land  should  be  as  deeply  and  thoroughly 
prepared  as  has  already  been  prescribed  for  sugar  beets.  The  work 
should  begin  with  fall  plowing  to  open  the  surface  for  absorption 
of  rainfall,  to  be  followed  later  by  a  deep  cross-plowing  to  fully 
turn  in  the  crop  of  weeds  and  grass  which  will  come  with  moisture. 
After  that  a  shallow  plowing  or  cultivation  may  be  given  to  kill 
later  growth  of  weeds  and  to  contribute  to  surface  pulverization. 
The  seed  should  be  sown  when  the  advance  of  the  season  warms 
the  soil.  The  precise  date  depends  upon  two  considerations:  first, 
the  local  rainfall,  and  second,  the  local  weed  growth.  Where  spring 
rains  are  usually  light,  earlier  sowing  is  best;  where  spring  rains 
are  usually  generous  and  where  weed  growth  is  great,  it  is  often 
wise  to  defer  sowing  and  use  the  cultivator  for  weed-killing,  so  that 
the  ground  may  be  as  clean  as  possible  before  the  seed  is  sown. 
Weeding  onions  is  one  of  the  most  expensive  and  tiresome  of  all 
field  practices,  and  it  is  good  policy,  where  moisture  is  ample,  to 
sow  much  later  in  the  spring  for  the  advantage  of  securing  cleaner 
land,  as  well  as  to  prevent  the  growth  of  "thick-necks"  or  scallions, 
which,  though  edible,  are  not  good  keepers  and  do  not  sell  well. 
Each  locality  has  its  own  policy  in  sowing  onions,  which  can  be 
learned  by  conference  with  experienced  growers. 

When  the  sowing  time  comes  be  sure  the  land  is  fined  well. 
Use  nothing  but  the  freshest  seed  from  responsible  dealers;  mark 
out  a  straight  line  for  beginning  and  sow  the  seed  with  a  seeder 
with  a  guide  so  that  the  straightness  of  the  first  row  may  be  fol- 
lowed in  the  others.  If  the  rows  begin  to  vary  from  this,  strike 
another  straight  line  and  proceed  again  from  this.  Distance  between 
the  rows  depends  upon  the  method  of  cultivation  to  be  adopted; 
some  are  grown  with  two  feet  distance  and  horse  cultivation  is 
used,  but  most  growers  choose  a  distance  of  twelve  to  sixteen  inches 
and  use  hand  cultivation.  The  hand  hoes,  or  cultivators  with  wheels, 
work  very  easily  and  rapidly  in  light  soils.  Care  must  be  taken  to 
work  them  deeply  enough  to  produce  a  good  soil  mulch. 

Depth  of  covering  depends  upon  season,  moisture  and  char- 
acter of  soil,  as  explained  in  Chapter  XL  With  onions  the  depth 
would  vary  from  one-half  an  inch  on  heavy  soil  to  one  inch  on 
light,  or  slightly  more  on  light  soil  in  a  dry  locality,  is  about  the 


TRANSPLANTING  ONIONS 

range.  The  seeder  should  be  set  to  drop  the  seeds  about  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  apart  in  the  drill,  which  will  use  from  four  to 
five  pounds  to  the  acre.  After  sowing,  the  ground  can  be  firmed 
in  any  of  the  ways  mentioned  in  Chapter  XL  A  light  roller  is  most 
expeditious  and  satisfactory  if  the  soil  is  in  the  right  condition  of 
moisture. 

Onion  seed  is  sometimes  rather  slow  in  starting  and  the  culti- 
vation should  not  wait  until  the  plants  appear.  Mr.  S.  J.  Murdock, 
of  Orange  county,  shows  how  skillfully  the  hand  wheel  hoe  can  be 
used  in  the  onion  field : 

After  seeding,  thorough,  shallow  cultivation  is  essential.  Do  not  wait 
until  the  plants  are  up  before  beginning;  from  four  to  eight  days  will  be 
proper,  or  when  the  seed  begins  to  show  signs  of  germinating,  which  can  be 
ascertained  by  carefully  brushing  the  soil  from  the  drill  row.  I  put  the 
curved  hoes  on  my  wheel  hoe,  with  the  straight  ends  of  the  hoes  pointing 
inwards  and  lapping  about  two  inches  and  hoe  right  over  the  rows  but  not 
deep  enough  to  disturb  the  seed.  It  saves  a  great  amount  of  hand-weeding 
by  killing  the  weeds  just  starting  to  grow  in  the  rows.  As  soon  as  the  onions 
are  up  sufficiently  to  follow  the  rows,  I  reverse  my  hoes,  with  the  curved 
ends  next  to  the  rows,  just  far  enough  apart  so  as  to  hoe  as  close  as  possible 
without  cutting  the  young  plants  by  running  the  hoes  astride  the  rows.  This 
operation  hoes  both  sides  of  the  row  at  one  trip  of  the  machine.  Follow  this 
by  hand-weeding;  this  operation  is  best  performed  by  the  crawling  process, 
that  is,  by  getting  down  on  hands  and  knees  astride  of  a  row  and  pulling 
every  weed  in  sight,  and  loosening  the  soil  around  and  between  the  plants. 
Repeat  this  as  often  as  any  weeds  are  to  be  found,  and  under  no  circum- 
stances allow  the  weeds  to  grow  above  the  onions;  at  the  same  time  keep 
the  wheel  hoe  at  work  between  the  rows  and  as  close  as  possible. 

It  is  desirable  to  use  plenty  of  seed  in  field  sowing.  Some- 
times it  is  possible  to  make  something  from  the  young  onions  while 
thinning  the  plants  to  about  four  inches  apart  to  the  rows,  but 
usually  the  thinning  is  done  before  the  plants  get  the  proper  size 
for  "top  onions." 

As  previously  said,  the  bulb  of  the  onion  should  be  at  the 
ground  surface,  and  the  dirt  should  not  be  thrown  to  any  extent 
on  the  onions  by  cultivation.  The  roots  should  be  well  covered,  but 
not  the  bulb.  Practically  all  onions  are  grown  by  flat  cultivation. 
Even  when  started  in  furrow  banks,  etc.,  the  soil  is  usually  leveled 
by  subsequent  cultivation. 

Transplanted  Onions. — Next  to  growth  from  the  seed,  the 
transplanting  of  small  seedlings  from  the  seed-bed  to  the  field,  is 
most  practiced  in  California.  This  method  has  recently  been  pro- 
claimed in  the  Eastern  and  Southern  States  as  a  "new  onion  cul- 
ture," but  it  is  really  an  old  practice  in  the  south  of  Europe,  and 
has  been  followed  in  California  for  a  third  of  a  century  or  more 
in  preference  to  starting  from  onion  sets.  It  is  a  fact  that  trans- 
planting produces  more  uniformly  large  onions  than  growth  from 
the  seed  in  place,  and  the  crop  also  reaches  maturity  sooner,  as  the 
transplanting  does  not  sacrifice  the  time  gained  by  the  earlier  start 
in  the  see$-bed.  Employing  these  two  points  of  advantage  in  a 


222  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

region  suitable  to  quick  winter  growth,  a  very  early  crop  of  mature 
onions  is  secured,  which  sometimes  strikes  a  bare  market  and  is 
very  profitable,  while  the  regular  crop,  coming  in  later,  may  be 
worth  much  less. 

Seedlings  for  transplanting  are  grown  in  California  in  the  open 
air,  according  to  the  conditions  for  germination  described  in  Chap- 
ter XL  Where  there  is  likelihood  of  heavy  rains  the  raised  bed 
described  in  Chapter  VIII  is  a  safeguard,  but  where  the  soil  nat- 
urally drains  well,  or  where  rain  is  light,  such  arrangement  is  not 
necessary.  Nor  is  it  necessary  that  the  culture  should  be  very  deep. 
The  seed  is  started  in  the  fall,  when  the  rate  of  evaporation  is  re- 
duced. Shallow  culture  promotes  early  growth  and,  if  the  soil  has 
been  previously  deeply  moistened,  there  is  no  need  of  such  deep 
work  as  would  be  desirable  if  the  plant  was  to  pursue  its  full  course 
in  that  place. 

Some  growers  use  a  little  bottom  heat  by  covering  in  fresh 
horse  manure  with  the  plow  and  shallow  working  the  surface  into 
fine  tilth.  This  practice  is  not  essential.  It  is  best  suited  to  heavy 
soil  and  ample  moisture;  it  has  an  element  of  danger  on  light  soil 
with  scant  moisture.  The  seed  is  sown  at  different  times  in  dif- 
ferent localities  from  September  to  November — the  early  date  in 
northern  California,  for  the  rains  come  earlier,  the  weather  is  cooler 
and  the  plants  of  slower  growth.  In  the  south  a  later  start  agrees 
better  with  the  rainfall,  and  more  rapid  growth  brings  the  seedlings 
to  planting-size  in  less  time. 

In  the  seed-bed  the  seed  is  usually  thickly  sown  broadcast, 
lightly  covered  and  rolled  or  pressed  down.  The  surface  is  pro- 
tected from  drying  and  from  packing  by  heavy  rain,  with  a  light 
mulch  of  fine  manure,  covered  with  boards  until  the  shoots  appear, 
or  covered  with  a  single  thickness  of  old  sacking  until  the  shoots 
begin  to  pierce  it.  Any  device  which  keeps  the  surface  moist  and 
loose  is  applicable.  The  plants  usually  reach  a  height  of  six  or 
eight  inches  at  time  for  transplanting. 

Transplanting. — Transplanted  onions  are  usually  grown  on 
lighter  soils  than  those  from  seed  because  the  crop  is  to  mature 
earlier  and  is  not  so  dependent  upon  moisture  retention.  Again 
the  lighter,  warmer  soils  give  the  most  rapid  winter  growth,  as 
already  stated.  Preparation  of  the  land  is  the  same  as  for  seed 
sowing  and  the  transplanting  is  done  at  about  the  same  time  of  the 
year — from  February  onward,  according  to  local  climate  and  soil 
conditions.  The  plants  are  pulled,  if  the  seed-bed  is  sandy,  and  they 
lift  easily,  or  lifted  with  a  shovel  and  separated.  The  top  and 
roots  are  shortened  about  half  the  length  of  each,  and  the  plants, 
dropped  along  the  rows  by  boys,  are  set,  with  the  finger  or  dibble, 
three  inches  apart  in  rows  twelve  inches  distant,  pressing  the  soil 
firmly  around  the  plant.  Planting  can  be  done  by  line  or  by  indi- 
cating it  with  a  roller  encircled  by  rope  at  proper  distance  or  by 
marking  out  shallow  furrows  with  the  hand  wheel  hoe,  etc.  The 


CALIFORNIA  ONION   SETS  223 

lines  must  be  straight  for  ease  and  efficiency  of  subsequent  culti- 
vation, which  must  be  clean  and  thorough. 

The  cost  of  growing  seedlings  and  transplanting  is  more  than 
field  seed-sowing,  possibly  about  $25  per  acre,  but  the  weeding  and 
cultivation  of  the  former  is  less.  If  there  is  no  particular  rush 
about  earliness,  transplanting  can  be  done  after  the  most  of  the 
season's  weed-starting  is  over.  Some  growers  count  this  quite  a 
gain.  Transplanted  onions  will  bottom  more  uniformly  and  give  a 
better  stand. 

Growing  from  Sets. — There  are  at  least  three  kinds  of  onion 
sets :  "top  sets"  or  buttons  which  form  on  the  seed  stem  in  the 
place  of  the  seed,  according  to  variety;  "bottom  sets,"  which  are 
either  small  bulbs  from  thickly  sown  seed,  prematurely  ripened,  or 
small  bulbs  which  form  beside  the  old  bulbs  in  some  varieties.  In 
California  the  varieties  which  habitually  produce  top  or  bottom  sets 
in  connection  with  stem  or  bulb  (the  so-called  "tree  onion"  and 
"potato  onion"),  are  not  grown  to  any  extent.  They  are  inferior 
to  other  varieties  which  are  satisfactory  in  this  climate.  All  onion 
sets  have  the  habit  of  proceeding  with  their  enlargement  when 
placed  in  moist  ground,  but  some  growers  find  that  the  bottom  sets 
from  seed  are  more  likely  to  run  to  seed  than  top  sets  from  the 
seed  stem.  Mr.  Adams,  of  Potter  valley,  was  in  the  habit  of  grow- 
ing his  own  top  sets  in  this  way : 

Plant  the  onions  of  the  variety  which  produces  top  sets  in  the  place  of 
seed,  eight  or  ten  inches  apart,  with  rows  two  feet  apart;  cultivate  well  and 
gather  the  sets  when  the  seed-stalks  are  ripe  or  perfectly  yellow.  Let  the 
sets  get  well  dried,  then  store  in  a  cool,  dry  place  six  or  eight  inches  deep 
on  a  board  floor  and  cover  with  clean,  dry  straw.  Never  put  them  in  sacks, 
boxes  or  barrels,  as  they  will  most  surely  mold. 

In  growing  onions  from  these  top  sets,  I  plant  them  as  early  in  February 
as  the  ground  is  suitable,  on  the  richest  of  my  land;  make  the  rows  per- 
fectly straight  by  using  a  strong  garden  line;  make  rows  one  foot  apart; 
press  the  sets  firmly  into  the  mellow  soil  nearly  or  quite  out  of  sight,  placing 
•  them  an  inch  or  so  apart.  When  they  are  nicely  up,  a  good  top  dressing  of 
fine,  dry,  decomposed  hen  manure  sown  broadcast  and  well  hoed  in,  is  most 
excellent,  especially  just  before  a  warm  rain.  A  few  weeks  later  a  light 
dressing  of  groupd  bone,  or  unleached  ashes,  will  forward  them  wonder- 
fully, and  in  a  short  time  you  will  have  onions  fit  for  an  epicure.  Thin  out 
as  wanted  for  use,  leaving  space  enough  for  those  that  remain  to  mature  for 
winter  use,  or  for  the  purpose  of  raising  top  sets  for  another  year. 

To  keep  sets  or  old  onions  from  going  to  seed  when  started  to 
grow;  whenever  a  seed  stem  appears  with  pointed  bud  on  top,  cut 
it  off  close  to  the  ground.  The  same  onion  never  sends  up  two 
seed  stems;  and  if  the  sets  have  plenty  of  moisture,  they  will  make 
big  onions  in  the  usual  way  after  the  seed  stem  is  gone.  Otherwise, 
they  would  all  go  to  seed  with  no  onion  left  at  the  bottom.  The 
sprouted  onions  will  (if  the  seed  stems  are  kept  cut  out)  make 
quite  a  quantity  of  smaller  onions  that  are  fair  size  to  use,  and 
keep  well  when  stored  for  home  use. 


224  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

The  foregoing  is  obviously  for  garden,  not  for  field  practice. 
In  fact,  for  field  work,  sets  of  any  kind  are  not  used  to  any  extent 
in  California. 

Bottom  sets  from  seed  are  grown  by  sowing  the  seed  thickly, 
allowing  the  plants  to  grow  without  thinning,  and  to  mature  by  the 
drying  on  the  ground,  when  about  the  size  of  marbles.  These  are 
then  pulled,  dried  thoroughly  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  and  are 
then  stored  in  a  cool,  dry  place  until  planted. 

Growing  sets  in  California  for  planters  in  distant  states  is 
largely  undertaken  in  Orange  county,  and  one  grower,  G.  A.  Mur- 
dock,  shipped  one  hundred  and  forty  tons  from  thirty-five  acres  in 
1910.  The  sowing  is  timed  to  get  a  succession  in  the  product.  The 
early  varieties,  in  1911,  began  to  be  sown  February  9th.  Some- 
times the  crop  goes  in  as  early  as  December  and  January.  Follow- 
ing these  comes  the  New  Queen  variety,  which  is  followed  by  the 
Brown  Australian.  The  planting  continues  till  June  and  the  har- 
vest of  the  late  sown  comes  in  the  fall.  The  early  sets  are  ready 
for  shipment  in  June  and  July,  and  go  mainly  to  Texas  and  Georgia. 
The  handling  of  this  business  is  described  in  this  way: 

In  preparing  the  sets  for  shipment  the  crop  is  first  pulled  and  spread 
on  racks  prepared  for  that  purpose,  to  be  dried  in  the  sun  for  three  to  five 
weeks.  From  the  field  the  trays  are  hauled  to  the  packing-house,  where  they 
are  dumped  into  the  hopper  of  a  large  circular  separator,  run  by  machinery, 
in  which  the  tops  are  beaten  off.  In  another  machine,  to  which  the  onions 
and  chaff  are  conveyed  by  an  endless  belt,  the  chaff  is  blown  out.  Thence 
the  elevator  takes  the  onions  to  the  grading  machine,  which  separates  them 
into  four  classes  according  to  size,  and  from  which  another  elevator  carries 
them  upstairs,  where  a  final  sorting  takes  place.  Here  is  a  long  row  of 
machines  before  each  of  which  an  operator  sits  to  inspect  the  sets  as  they 
pass  along  the  carriage,  while  the  defective  sets  are  cast  out.  This  double 
sorting  ensures  a  high  grade  product.  From  here  the  onions  drop  back  to 
the  ground  floor,  where  they  are  sacked  and  crated  for  shipment.  The 
average  per  acre  is  close  to  four  and  one-half  tons,  while  six  and  seven  are 
frequent. 

Irrigation  of  Onions.- — Though  our  onion  crops  are  largely 
grown  without  irrigation,  it  is  often  desirable  to  use  water  to  carry 
the  summer  growth  to  satisfactory  size  on  coarse  soils  prone  to  dry 
out.  Water  can  be  applied  by  any  of  the  methods  described  in  the 
chapter  on  irrigation.  Enough  water  should  be  used  to  secure 
thrifty,  but  not  excessive  growth,  and  stirring  of  the  ground  after 
irrigation  should  only  be  delayed  long  enough  to  bring  the  soil  into 
proper  working  condition. 

Sometimes  transplanting  is  done  in  connection  with  irrigation. 
The  plants  are  properly  trimmed  and  placed  in  the  trenches  along- 
side the  irrigating  furrows,  on  a  slant  to  keep  the  tops  from  the 
wet  ground  (made  so  by  applying  the  water).  They  will  readily 
take  root,  when  they  may  be  straightened  up  by  the  hoe.  Some- 
times the  water  may  be  passed  through  the  trenches,  when  the 
plants  may  be  put  in  place  by  hand  when  the  soil  is  in  proper 
condition. 


Photo  Sacramento  Co.  Supervisors 

A  glimpse  at  the  heart  of  a  California  pepper  plant.— Page  234. 


GARDEN    CULTURE  OF  ONIONS  225 

Harvesting  Onions. — In  the  maturing  of  the  crop  and  the  har- 
vesting California  has  great  advantage  in  a  warm,  dry  summer  and 
early  fall.  Mr.  Murdock,  of  Orange  county,  gives  these  sugges- 
tions on  harvesting: 

When  the  tops  have  turned  yellow  and  dried  or  shriveled  up  near  the 
bulbs,  and  the  majority  have  fallen  over,  the  crop  is  ripe  and  ready  to  har- 
vest. If  on  moist  land  they  should  be  harvested  at  once,  for  if  left  long  in 
the  ground  the  moisture  from  below  and  heavy  fogs  of  the  coast  region  will 
soon  cause  them  to  start  new  roots,  also  a  new  growth  of  top,  which  would 
soon  spoil  the  whole  crop.  On  dry  land,  however,  the  summer  crops  can 
remain  quite  a  while  without  injury. 

Harvesting  is  done  by  pulling  two  or  more  rows ;  lay  the  onions  next  to 
the  standing  rows,  and  when  across  the  plot,  turn  round  and  pull  a  like 
number  of  rows  and  lay  with  the  ones  previously  pulled.  This  leaves  them 
in  a  continuous  pile  across  the  field  for  topping,  which  is  generally  done  with 
a  sharp  knife  after  the  onions  have  laid  a  few  days  to  more  fully  mature. 
While  topping,  the  bulbs  are  usually  thrown  in  heaps  ready  for  market  or 
to  store  away,  as  the  grower  may  determine.  It  is  best  to  sack  or  haul 
from  the  field  while  the  sun  shines,  as  the  onions  should  be  perfectly  dry  in 
either  case. 

A  Sacramento  valley  grower  turns  down  the  tops  when  they 
become  limp  and  when  they  are  pretty  dry  the  onions  are  pulled 
by  hand,  cultivation  having  kept  the  ground  soft.  They  are  left  in 
fifty  to  sixty  pound  piles  to  cure  until  the  tops  are  perfectly  dry. 
If  the  sun  is  very  hot,  protect  the  onions"  in  the  piles  by  keeping*  the 
tops  over  them. 

Yield. — Ten  tons  per  acre  is  a  fair  yield  on  good  soil,  well 
handled,  but  this  amount  is  frequently  exceeded  and  even  30  tons 
has  been  secured,  according  to  credible  testimony. 

Garden  Culture  of  Onions. — Garden  culture  proceeds  upon 
about  the  same  lines  as  field  work,  and  by  methods  already  de- 
scribed. Due  regard  should  be  had  for  succession,  and  by  proper 
use  of  water  in  summer  and  of  ridge  or  raised  bed  in  early  winter, 
it  is  practicable  to. have  crisp,  young  onions  all  the  year,  and  mature 
ones  with  but  a  very  short  season  of  storage.  Onions  have  been 
matured  from  seed  sown  every  month  of  the  year,  but  the  ripen- 
ing was  not  reached  every  month  because  progress  is  slower  at  one 
time  than  at  another. 

In  the  garden  onions  should  have  most  generous  treatment  for 
delicate  flavor  and  crispness  depends  upon  quick  growth.  The  use 
of  fertilizers  in  preparation  of  the  soil,  and  of  liquid  manure  dur- 
ing growth,  are  strong  helps  toward  this.  The  onion  accepts  grate- 
fully the  richest  manures. 

The  first  top-onions  in  the  fall  can  be  grown  by  using  bottom 
sets  planted  closely  in  the  row  just  as  soon  as  the  ground  is  well 
moistened  by  early  rains.  The  succession  can  be  had  by  sowing 
seed  at  intervals,  beginning  at  the  same  time  the  sets  are  put  in  and 
continued  when  the  ground  is  in  good  condition  until  spring. 

The  following  method  of  growing  sets  for  garden  use  is  ap- 
proved by  the  experience  of  Mr.  F.  Austin,  of  San  Diego  county, 


226  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

who  grows  fine  vegetables  for  the  love  of  it:  Sow  the  seed  in  the 
spring,  say  March,  not  later  than  April,  then  as  the  plants  develop 
in  the  drills  which  have  been  sown  not  too  thick,  and  begin  to  as- 
sume size  and  form  of  bulb,  at  both  sides  of  the  row  begin  to  re- 
move the  earth  with  the  hoe,  the  object  being  to  retard  the  growth 
or  top  and  form  a  "set"  below.  This  is  repeated,  going  along  each 
side  of  the  growing  onions,  removing  the  dirt  and  even  cutting 
some  of  the  roots  a  second  time.  The  tops  begin  to  wither  but  the 
bulb  increases  in  size  until  finally  you  run  the  hoe  entirely  under 
the  roots  severing  them  and  leaving  the  now  new-formed  "sets"  to 
dry  for  a  few  days,  when  you  take  them  by  the  handful  from  the 
row  and  shake  off  the  dirt  and  put  them  away  under  cover  from 
sun  in  a  cool  place  until,  say,  October.  Then  plant  these  "sets" 
and  they  will  grow  to  onions  fast  and  in  advance  of  anything  you 
can  get  from  seed  and  give  you  large  juicy  onions. 

Rotation. — The  advantage  of  clean  land  for  onions  has  been 
mentioned.  This  is  often  best  secured  by  allowing  onions  to  follow 
carrots  or  potatoes  or  corn.  The  cultivation  of  these  vegetables 
sprouts  and  kills  many  weeds,  which  are  more  easily  handled  in 
connection  with  those  crops  than  with  the  onions.  The  cultivation 
also  renders  the  soil  more  friable,  which  is  a  prime  requisite  to  the 
growth  of  onions. 

Intercropping. — Large  quantities  of  onions  are  grown  in  straw- 
berry regions,  being  irrigated  incidentally  in  connection  with  the 
berries.  The  strawberry  plants  are  on  ridges  in  rows  eighteen  or 
twenty  inches  apart;  the  onion  row  between  the  strawberry  rows 
parallel  thereto  in  the  center  of  the  ridge,  the  ridges  being  also 
eighteen  to  twenty  inches  apart,  so  the  water  runs  down  between 
the  ridges.  Onions  are  also  grown  between  the  trees  in  young 
orchards  on  rich,  deep,  moist,  or  irrigated  land.  This  cannot  be 
long  continued  to  advantage,  as  onions  do  not  take  kindly  to  shade, 
but  delight  in  full  sunshine. 

Varieties. — Out  of  the  multitude  of  varieties  a  few  have  proved 
most  serviceable  and  satisfactory  for  California  conditions : 

Barletta:  very  early,  small,  pure  white,  smooth  and  handsome;  largely 
grown  for  pickling,  also  for  early  top  onions  in  garden  culture. 

California  Early  Red:  very  early,  large  size,  flattish,  mild  flavor;  not  a 
good  keeper.  Chiefly  grown  by  Italian  market  gardeners  and  the  variety 
probably  was  introduced  from  Italy. 

New  Queen  or  Pearl :  small,  early  white,  fine  flavor.  Chiefly  grown  for 
pickling  and  for  top  onions. 

Silver  Skin  or  White  Portugal:  silvery  white,  medium  size,  excellent 
flavor  and  esteemed  for  table  use.  Small  bulbs  largely  used  for  pickling. 

e  Southport  White  Globe :    leading  variety  in  Los  Angeles  market ;  silvery 
white,  wax-like;  young  onions  very  handsome;  mature  bulbs  keep  well. 

Prize-Taker  or  Spanish  King:  very  large  and  beautiful,  rich  straw  color, 
flesh  white,  sweet  and  tender;  productive  and  keeps  well. 

Australian  Brown:  flat,  light  brown,  a  long  keeper  and  good  shipper; 
very  productive  on  rich  sandy  soil  with  ample  moisture.  A  leading  com- 
mercial variety. 


LEEK  AND  GARLIC  227 

White  Bermuda :  yellowish  white,  flat,  very  early,  chiefly  grown  in  south- 
ern California  for  early  shipment. 

Red  Bermuda:    resembles  White  Bermuda,  except  in  color. 

Yellow  Flat  Danvers:  most  popular  flat  yellow  variety,  very  hardy  and 
trustworthy  cropper,  leads  in  San  Francisco  where  it  is  apt  to  be  called 
"silver-skin." 

Yellow  Globe  Danvers:  large,  round,  yields  well  and  keeps  well;  solid 
and  good  flavor.  One  of  the  main  varieties  in  all  parts  of  California. 

Red  Wethersfield:  large,  round,  slightly  flattened,  deep  red  with  white 
flesh,  strongly  flavored,  well  adapted  for  low,  moist  soils,  hardy.  This  and 
Danvers  Globe  constitute  a  main  part  of  the  California  product. 

Crystal  Wax :  medium  size,  waxy  white,  flat,  good  for  winter  crop  from 
fall  seeding  in  interior  valleys. 

White  Queen:  very  early,  good  garden  variety  but  not  large  nor  good 
keeper. 

Mammoth  Silver  King:    large,  flat,  white,  mild  flavor,  garden  variety. 

Ailsa  Craig:  said  to  be  largest  onion  grown;  early,  good  flavor  and  fine 
grained. 

Tree-onion:  a  variety  which  produces  top-sets  instead  of  seed  at  the 
head  of  the  seed  stem.  Used  in  garden  culture  as  already  described.  It  serves 
a  good  purpose  under  certain  conditions,  but  is  very  little  used  in  this  state. 

THE   LEEK. 

California  produces  large  quantities  of  leek  seed  for  distant 
sale,  but  the  leek  itself  is  but  little  grown  in  California,  except  by 
market  gardeners,  and  its  use  is  chiefly  by  citizens  of  foreign  birth, 
although  it  is  gaining  in  popularity.  The  edible  part  is  the  blanched 
lower  leaves  of  the  plant.  The  culture  is  at  first  practically  the  same 
as  that  described  for  transplanted  onions,  except  that  the  young  leek 
plant  is  deeply  set  in  a  depression  in  friable  soil,  and  as  it  grows 
the  earth  is  drawn  about  the  leaves,  which  are  tightly  sheathed  to- 
gether so  as  to  blanch  them  into  the  appearance  of  a  thick  white  stem. 
Thus  the  later  cultivation  of  the  plant  resembles  that  of  celery.  It 
is  handiest  in  the  garden  to  sow  the  seed  in  drills  one  foot  apart, 
at  intervals  from  fall  to  spring,  so  as  to  have  a  succession,  and 
plant  the  seedlings  when  about  the  diameter  of  a  goose  quill,  in 
the  bottom  of  a  drill  or  furrow  several  inches  deep.  The  plants 
need  wide  spacing,  say  six  to  ten  inches,  for  they  reach  considerable 
thickness  and  make  a  large  display  of  leaves.  Cultivation  gradually 
levels  the  ground.  Leeks  need  ample  moisture  and  good  cultivation 
to  attain  fine  size  and  tenderness.  If  the  blanching  is  not  particu- 
larly cared  for,  the  plants  may  be  grown  at  the  surface  just  as 
onions  are,  except  for  the  greater  distance  the  plant  requires  to  de- 
velop. The  leeks  chiefly  grown  in  California  are  the  Large  Amer- 
ican Flag,  of  good,  uniform  size,  and  strong  growth,  and  London 
Flag,  a  large,  strong  grower  also. 

GARLIC. 

What  is  said  of  the  restricted  local  use  of  the  leek  applies  also 
to  the  garlic.  It  is  grown  with  about  the  same  cultivation  as  the 
onion,  and  the  planting  season  is  of  the  same  duration.  The  method 
is  by  planting  the  bulblets,  or  "cloves,"  taken  out  of  the  silvery  skin 


228  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

which  covers  the  bunch,  and  planted  like  onion  sets  about  six  inches 
apart  in  rows  one  foot  distant  from  each  other.  It  may  also  be 
grown  by  planting  whole  cases  of  sets  one  foot  apart  in  the  rows. 
The  planting  should  be  rather  shallow  and  the  soil  should  be  light 
and  well  cultivated  to  allow  the  free  expansion  of  the  bulb. 

There  was  a  great  rush  for  garlic  after  the  European  war 
opened.  Purchases  for  shipment  covered  the  local  supply  and 
prices  to  restore  it  ran  very  high — even  to  $15  and  $20  per  ctl. 
Stimulated  production  soon  became  unprofitable,  and  the  field  for 
enterprise  in  garlic  seems  to  be  strictly  limited.  Some  Californians 
coming  from  less  favored  countries  are  surprised  to  find  their  gar- 
lic bulbs  flowering  freely  and  wonder  if  the  bulb  is  valueless  after 
that,  as  is  the  case  of  onions  going  to  seed.  Apprehension  is  un- 
necessary. The  garlic  is  a  true  perennial  and  will  keep  on  making 
bulblets  while  the  onion  is  short-lived  and  must  come  again  from 
the  seed  more  quickly. 

CHIVES. 

These  are  small  plants,  whose  leaves  have  the  onion  flavor  de- 
sired in  cookery.  They  are  grown  from  the  small  bulbs,  and  from 
thick  clumps  or  an  edging  for  permanent  garden  beds.  The  leaves 
are  shorn  off  whenever  desired  and  are  most  excellent  for  giving 
a  mild  onion  flavor  to  salads  and  soups. 

CIBOULE. 

Another  plant  used  like  chives,  but  of  taller  growth,  is  the 
Welch  onion,  or  ciboule.  It  makes  no  bulb,  but  seeds  freely,  and 
the  plant  develops  rapidly  to  cutting  condition.  The  cultivation  is 
the  same  as  of  onions  grown  from  seed. 

SHALLOT. 

Both  the  bulbs  and  leaves  of  this  plant  are  used  to  give  the 
onion  flavor  in  cookery.  Propagation  is  the  same  as  that  of  chives, 
by  means  of  the  small  bulbs,  and  the  culture  is  the  same  as  of  onions 
grown  from  sets. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 
PEAS. 

THE  GARDEN  PEA. — Pisum  sativum. 

French,  pois  a  ecosser ;  German,  schal-erbsen ;  Dutch,  doperwten ;  Danish, 
skaloerte ;  Italian,  piselli  da  sgranare ;  Spanish,  guisantes  para  desgranar ;  Por- 
tuguese, ervilhas  de  grao. 

THE  LENTIL. — Lens  esculenta. 

French,  lentille;  German,  linse;  Dutch,  linze;  Danish,  lindse;  Italian, 
lente;  Spanish,  lenteja;  Portuguese,  lentilha. 

THE  GARBANZO  OR  CHICK  PEA. — Cicer  arietinum. 
French,  pois  chiche;  German,  kicher-erbse ;  Italian,  cece;  Spanish,  gar- 
banzos;  Portuguese,  chicaro. 

Dry  heat  is  offensive  to  the  pea,  and  its  occurrence  imposes 
the  chief  limitation  to  the  success  of  this  vegetable  in  California. 
The  escape  from  this  limitation  consists  in  winter  growth,  as  far  as 
practicable,  and  in  recourse  to  the  coast  region  where  atmospheric 
humidity  is  greatest  and  summer  heat  least.  The  pea  is  very  hardy 
against  frost,  and  this  advantage  goes  far  to  compensate  for  its 
susceptibility  to  drought,  because  it  enables  it  to  thrive  in  the  winter 
in  the  very  places  where  it  perishes  in  summer.  The  obvious  deduc- 
tion is  that  in  regions  dependent  upon  rainfall  the  garden  planting 
of  the  pea  must  be  as  early  in  the  fall  as  adequate  moisture  has 
reached  the  soil,  and  in  regions  where  irrigation  is  available,  it  is 
desirable  that  the  start  should  be  made  in  advance  of  rainfall  for 
the  earliest  product,  and  that  other  plantings  follow  for  a  success- 
sion,  until  it  is  ascertained  what  is  the  latest  date  of  sowing  which 
will  reach  satisfactory  maturity.  If  practice  proceed  upon  this 
basis,  the  pea  will  be  seen  to  have  a  much  longer  season  than  in 
wintry  climates,  although,  in  some  places,  midsummer  growth  is 
impracticable.  Most  failures  to  realize  this  satisfaction  with  the 
pea  are  due  to  late  planting  and  failure  to  recognize  that,  in  many 
parts  of  the  state,  the  pea  is  a  winter  and  not  a  summer  plant. 

In  the  growth  of  field  peas  most  disappointments  have  followed 
the  same  misapprehension,  and  a  monopoly  of  pea  conditions  has 
been  conceded  to  the  coast  when  the  interior  really  can  grow  large 
amounts  of  forage,  at  least,  by  taking  a  different  time  of  the  year 
for  it.  Fortunately,  this  fact  is  coming  to  be  better  understood,  and 
large  fields  of  peas  are  now  grown  as  winter  feed  for  dairy  cows 
and  in  the  orchard  to  be  plowed  under  early  in  the  spring  for  green 
manuring,  where  only  recently  the  pea  was  supposed  to  be  unsuited 
to  the  climate.  These  remarks  apply  to  the  true  pea,  not  to  the  so- 
called  "cow  pea,"  which  really  belongs  to  the  bean  family  and  is 
very  susceptible  to  frost  injury. 

[229] 


230  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Soils  and  Situations  for  the  Pea. — The  pea  succeeds  on  a  wide 
variety  of  soils — a  good,  rich  loam  of  sufficient  retentiveness  being 
the  ideal.  Where  it  is  winter-grown,  with  moderate  heat  and  am- 
ple moisture,  lighter  soils  can  be  successfully  used,  because  they 
are  warmer  and  dispose  of  the  surplus  water  more  readily.  Though 
the  pea  withstands  much  frost,  it  needs  warmth  for  rapid  advance- 
ment, and  for  this  reason  the  earliest  peas,  as,  for  example,  peas 
for  Christmas  from  September  sowing,  are  grown  where  there  is 
little  frost,  and  hillsides  are  often  used  to  escape  the  heavier  frosts 
of  the  valley  below.  In  moist  bottom  lands  in  the  interior,  and  on 
uplands  near  the  coast,  peas  naturally  thrive  much  later  in  the  sea- 
son than  on  the  interior  plains  and  hillsides,  and  the  latest  green 
peas  are  grown  in  the  moist  lands  of  the  coast  valleys,  moisture 
being  retained  by  cultivation  or  supplied  by  irrigation,  according  to 
local  conditions.  By  using  these  different  situations  green  peas  are 
available  for  city  trade  nearly  the  entire  year. 

Culture. — From  what  has  been  said  it  may  be  inferred  that 
the  pea  at  different  times  of  the  year  is  to  be  handled  with  all  the 
arts  for  releasing  or  retaining  moisture,  which  are  described  in  the 
chapters  on  the  planting  season,  drainage  and  cultivation.  The 
reader  should  study  these,  and  choose  the  methods  adapted  to  the 
soil  and  time  of  the  year  with  which  he  expects  to  operate.  Depth 
of  planting  is  also  governed  by  these  factors,  as  described  in  the 
chapter  on  propagation.  The  pea  will  thrive  with  deep  covering, 
according  to  the  soil  and  moisture — even  to  covering  the  seed  in  a 
plow  furrow  in  a  light  soil — but  in  a  heavier  soil,  with  assurance  of 
moisture,  a  single  inch  of  depth  may  best  favor  its  growth.  Deep 
working  of  the  soil  is  also,  as  a  rule,  acceptable  to  the  pea  and  where 
the  crop  is  to  come  late  and  to  endure  a  measure  of  heat  and 
drought,  deep  working  in  preparation  and  fine  surface  cultivation, 
as  late  as  feasible  without  injury  to  the  vines,  is  necessary.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  for  fall  and  winter  growth  in  some  situations  and 
soils,  such  thorough  work  may  not  be  called  for.  For  winter  work, 
too,  it  is  not  desirable  that  the  surface  should  be  worked  to  a  fine 
mulch;  surplus  water  is  relieved  by  evaporation  and  the  surface  is 
prevented  from  crusting,  if  a  coarser  condition  is  retained.  The 
pea  plant  gives  every  possible  advantage  to  the  grower;  it  is  strong 
growing  and  hardy,  and  it  has  a  large  seed  which  makes  a  vigorous 
shoot.  If  the  grower  can  give  it  escape  from  dry  heat  it  will  serve 
him  well  both  in  garden  and  field. 

It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  pea  needs  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  heat,  though  it  be  small,  and  there  is  nothing  gained 
by  sowing  in  cold,  wet  ground.  In  small,  frosty  valleys  with  heavy 
rainfall  sowing  should  often  be  delayed  until  the  ground  is  warmed 
in  February,  though  on  slopes  above  such  valleys  much  earlier  work 
can  often  be  done  satisfactorily.  The  fitness  of  certain  varieties 
for  seasonal  conditions  will  be  considered  presently. 


COMMERCIAL  PEA  GROWING  231 

For  the  Earliest  Peas. — The  earliest  peas,  counting  the  first  of 
July  as  the  beginning  of  the  California  season,  are  in  picking  con- 
dition in  December,  from  seed  sown  in  August  and  September. 
Irrigate  the  land  thoroughly,  plow  well,  harrow,  and  sow  the  seed 
with  a  drill  as  nearly  as  practicable  an  inch  apart  in  rows  two  and 
a  half  feet  distant.  Another  way  is  to  open  a  shallow  furrow  with 
a  single  plow,  scatter  the  seed  in  the  furrow  and  cover  with  a  cul- 
tivator, covering  the  seed  and  stirring  the  space  between  the  rows. 
In  growing  peas  on  hillsides  for  very  early  market,  the  foreigners, 
who  are  the  chief  growers,  depend  much  upon  hand  work  and  bring 
the  rows  nearer  together.  Irrigation  must  be  used  from  time  to 
time  to  keep  the  soil  from  drying  until  the  rains  come  and  subse- 
quently if  the  rains  are  light.  The  plants  must  be  pushed  to  bring 
well-filled  pods  and  continual  moisture  is  essential.  Cultivation,  to 
keep  the  soil  clean  and  mellow,  is  necessary.  A  light  harrow  can 
be  safely  used  with  peas  even  after  the  plants  appear.  After  this 
the  free  use  of  the  cultivator  will  be  found  profitable. 

Peas  in  the  garden  are  often  successfully  grown  in  hills  about 
three  feet  apart  with  about  a  dozen  peas  in  a  hill.  Where  there  is 
apt  to  be  much  winter  water  and  the  soil  heavy,  a  raised  bed  is 
desirable. 

Later  Sowing. — Whether  it  will  be  profitable  to  arrange  for  a 
succession  of  peas  in  the  early  winter  depends  upon  the  local  soil 
and  climate.  On  light  soils  and  in  regions  of  moderate  rainfall  and 
frost  it  is  quite  feasible,  but  in  most  regions  December  and  January 
bring  the  lowest  temperatures  and  the  longest  rainstorms  of  the 
year,  and  the  ground  is  out  of  condition.  The  advent  of  February 
changes  things  enough  to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  pea,  and  then 
the  sowing  for  the  spring  and  summer  succession  may  begin.  At 
first  the  ridge  or  raised  bed  method  will  give  safety  against  exces- 
sive water,  but  later  sowings  should  be  made  for  flat  culture  on  soil 
most  thoroughly  prepared  and  well  cultivated  afterward. 

Field  Growth. — Where  peas  are  sown  for  forage  or  for  a  crop 
of  dry  peas,  sowing  can  be  done  broadcast  on  land  which  has  been 
previously  plowed  and  harrowed,  and  then  the  seed  is  covered  with 
a  shallow  cross-plowing  of  the  whole  field.  If  the  soil  is  friable 
and  a  good  condition  of  moisture,  this  leaves  the  surface  well  loos- 
ened and  able  to  receive  considerable  rain  without  baking.  This 
method  answers  well  on  light  soils  in  the  interior  early  in  the  winter, 
and  the  moist  condition  of  the  upper  coast  valleys  is  also  satisfac- 
tory. In  the  upper  coast  valleys  peas  can  be  safely  sown  as  late 
as  May  for  summer  crop  and  forage.  Wherever  heat  or  drought 
and  hard  ground  are  likely  to  be  encountered  before  the  vines  cover 
the  ground,  drill  culture  and  cultivation  are  better. 

Peas  in  the  Orchard. — It  has  already  been  mentioned  that  the 
winter  growth  of  peas  in  the  orchard  for  plowing  under  for  green 
manure,  is  being  widely  practiced  in  this  state.  The  pea  has  the 
power  of  appropriating  atmospheric  nitrogen  and  its  growth  in  the 


232  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

winter  in  the  warmer  parts  of  the  state  may  be  effected  with  little 
loss  of  moisture  to  the  trees.  Growing  the  pea  crop  in  the  orchard 
to  be  gathered  green  for  canners'  use  has  also  been  successfully  done 
in  this  state,  when  the  trees  are  small.  The  pea  is  probably  one  of 
the  least  injurious  of  the  inter-cultures  and  under  certain  conditions 
may  be  of  actual  benefit  to  the  trees.  For  this  purpose  the  crop 
should  be  gathered  and  the  green  vine  plowed  in  as  early  as  possible. 

No  Support  for  Peas. — Peas  are  chiefly  grown  as  a  prostrate 
crop  in  California  both  in  garden  and  field.  The  preference  is  for 
the  dwarf  or  medium  high  kinds  and  they  are  allowed  to  stand  or 
mat  down  as  they  see  fit.  It  better  suits  a  climate  where  reclining 
on  the  ground  very  rarely  induces  mildew  and  where  the  covering 
of  the  ground  assists  in  maintaining  the  coolness  and  moisture  of 
soil  which  delights  the  pea. 

Varieties. — Of  the  two  main  divisions  of  pea  varieties,  the 
smooth  and  the  wrinkled  skins,  the  smooth  are  the  more  hardy  and 
can  be  safely  grown  early.  The  smooth  pea  may  resist  decay  and 
grow  where  the  wrinkled  seed  will  perish.  And  yet  the  wrinkled 
pea  is  so  popular  that  wrinkled  varieties  have  almost  excluded  the 
smooth  kinds  from  growth  as  vegetables.  Our  enterprising  seeds- 
men are  continually  offering  new  varieties,  but  the  older  sorts  still 
prevail  largely,  as  follows : 

Alaska :   tall-growing,  small  smooth  pea,  pod  short,  well  filled ;  very  early. 

American  Wonder:  dwarf,  wrinkled,  very  compact  growth,  productive 
and  early,  fine  quality,  very  sweet ;  the  leading  early  pea  in  California. 

McLean's  Little  Gem:  dwarf,  wrinkled,  very  early,  productive,  rich  and 
sweet. 

Nott's  Excelsior:  resembles  American  Wonder;  larger  growing  and  more 
productive ;  fine  quality ;  long  bearing  period ;  excellent  home  garden  pea. 

Gradus :   earliest  of  its  height ;  pods  large ;  peas  delicious. 

Premium  Gem:  an  improved  Little  Gem  with  larger  pods;  popular  for 
home  gardens. 

Yorkshire  Hero  (also  called  Alameda  Sweet)  :  later  than  dwarf  varieties; 
most  popular  in  all  parts  of  the  state  for  main  crop;  strong  grower,  with 
branching  habit;  large  pods  well  filled  with  large,  wrinkled  peas;  keeps  in 
condition  on  vine  longer  than  other  varieties. 

Stratagem:  strong  grower,  with  large  showy  pods;  peas  large,  of  good 
flavor. 

Champion  of  England :   well-known  late  variety,  largely  used  by  canners. 

Telephone :  late,  very  productive,  large  pods ;  peas  sugary ;  largely  grown 
and  sometimes  very  profitable.  Dwarf  Telephone  or  Daisy  is  the  same  variety 
of  low  growth. 

Edible  Pod  or  Sugar  Peas. — Although  California  interest  is  al- 
most wholly  centered  in  the  shelling  varieties  of  peas,  there  has  re- 
cently been  some  attention  paid  in  home  gardens  to  the  edible  pod 
varieties  which  are  used  in  the  kitchen  as  are  string  or  snap  beans. 
They  are  available  because  of  their  hardiness  at  times  of  the  year 
when  string  beans  can  only  be  had  from  frostless  regions  if  at  all. 
Their  culture  is  the  same  as  for  other  kinds  of  peas. 


LENTILS  AND  GARBANZOS  233 

LENTILS. 

Though  of  another  botanical  genus,  lentils  are  best  classed  with 
peas.  They  are  quite  hardy  and  make  a  good  winter  growth.  Len- 
tils are  a  kind  of  pea  which  Americans  have  little  use  for  and  our 
seedsmen  do  not  usually  find  it  desirable  to  offer  the  seeds,  which 
indicates  a  minimum  demand.  They  are  grown  just  like  a  dwarf 
pea.  They  have  a  pea's  endurance  of  frost  and  are  planted  from 
fall  to  spring  for  cultivation  like  peas.  Lentils  are  rarely  seen  in 
California,  probably  because  peas  are  preferred,  not  only  because 
of  flavor,  but  because  of  more  easy  handling.  The  lentil  bears  but 
two  seeds  in  a  pod.  It  is  like  the  garbanzo  in  that  kind  of  shift- 
lessness.  Americans  like  peas  which  put  eight  or  ten  peas  in  a 
pod  and  make  the  pod  big  enough  to  grab  easily.  Besides,  the 
lentil  is  not  eaten  as  we  eat  peas :  it  is  used  only  in  stews  and  soups 
and  for  that  purpose  we  use  "split  peas,"  which  are  cheaper  be- 
cause more  easily  secured  in  quantity  and  suit  our  taste  just  as 
well.  One  certainly  should  not  undertake  lentils  extensively  unless 
he  can  get  a  contract  with  a  buyer  who  has  a  good  European 
appetite.  Owing  to  their  early  winter  growth  they  may  come  into 
use  here  for  cattle  food  as  in  Europe. 

GARBANZOS. 

Another  two-seeded  pod  bearer  is  the  garbanzo  or  chick  pea, 
which  is  a  hairy  plant  of  the  vetch  family.  Its  uses  are  like  those 
of  lentils,  but  it  has  also  served  widely  as  a  coffee  substitute.  Its 
culture  is  easy,  like  the  pea  in  method,  but  the  product  is  always 
used  dry  or  mature.  The  plant  is  more  hardy  against  drought  than 
the  peas.  Its  production  in  California  is  small,  but  seems  to  be 
increasing.  The  price  is  uncertain :  one  must  find  some  one  to 
contract  for  them.  They  are  not  much  used  by  Americans.  Money 
has  been  made  in  the  past  by  shipping  them  to  Mexico,  and  there 
is  demand  for  them  in  places  where  Mexicans  congregate  in  this 
state.  Garbanzos  are  not  beans,  and  will  not  sell  for  beans.  They 
are  near-peas.  They  are  in  their  manner  of  growth  and  their  uses 
more  like  lentils,  but  in  their  appearance  more  like  a  lop-sided  pea. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 


PEPPERS. 

CHILE  PEPPERS. — Capsicum  annuum. 

French,  piment;  German,  pfeffer;  Dutch,  Spaansche  peper;  Italian,  pepe- 
rone;  Spanish,  pimiento;  Portuguese,  pimento. 

The  settlement  of  California  by  people  of  Spanish  birth  or 
descent  naturally  brought  the  pepper  into  early  prominence  in  this 
state,  and  the  considerable  fraction  of  our  population  which  now 
traces  to  south  of  Europe  nations  serves  to  hold  the  plant  in  popu- 
larity. American  citizens  have  also  wide  liking  for  the  pepper  in 
some  of  its  uses,  and  the  result  is,  large  local  demand  for  the  cap- 
sules both  in  green  and  mature  states.  There  is  this  main  division 
in  the  demand, — the  northern  races  prefer  the  large,  green,  mild 
varieties ;  the  southern  races  chiefly  use  that  which  is  ripe,  red,  and 
fiery  in  flavor.  But,  of  course,  this  distinction  is  not  to  be  pushed 
too  far.  Each  kind  has  its  uses  which  are  observed  by  all  consum- 
ers. In  the  California  markets  the  two  kinds  or  conditions  stand 
side  by  side  in  such  quantities  as  to  make  them  conspicuous. 

Though  the  pepper  is  usually  an  annual,  it  carries  its  profitable 
productive  life  into  the  second  year  in  the  thermal  regions  of  the 
state.  The  stem  has  a  tendency  to  become  woody  and  after  a  period 
of  partial  dormancy,  it  sends  out  new  shoots  and  bears  its  second 
crop.  This  cannot,  however,  be  expected  in  a  frosty  location. 

Garden  Culture. — Peppers  are  usually  grown  from  plants 
started  early  by  artificial  heat  in  the  same  manner  indicated  for 
eggplant.  Planting  out  should  be  done  after  danger  of  frost  is  over 
and  the  soil  is  well  warmed  by  the  sun.  Later  plants  may  be  grown 
by  planting  the  seed  in  drills  in  the  open  ground,  thinning  the  plants 
afterward  to  suitable  distance.  Moisture  should  be  evenly  main- 
tained by  cultivation  or  irrigation  as  needed,  but  excessive  water  is 
undesirable  at  all  times  from  the  seed  sowing  onward.  The  plants 
will  endure  heat  and  drouth,  but  the  fruiting  is  deficient  in  size  and 
quantity,  and  for  the  best  success,  especially  with  the  large  varie- 
ties, rich,  light  soil,  .well  cultivated  and  adequately  moist,  is  a  requi- 
site. The  distance  between  the  plants  depends  upon  method  of 
cultivation.  In  the  hand-worked  garden,  the  plants  may  be  set  a 
foot  apart  in  rows,  eighteen  inches  distant  from  each  other,  but 
usually  greater  distance  is  better,  and  for  horse  work  the  rows 
should  be  two  or  three  feet  apart. 

Field  Culture. — Field  culture  for  canning  and  for  the  trade  in 

dried  peppers  is  pursued  on  a  large  scale  in  southern  California, 

especially  in  Orange  county,  on  the  deep  loams  of  the  gentle  slope 

oceanward.     An  outline  of  methods  is  prepared   from  data  fur- 

[234] 


COMMERCIAL  GROWTH   OF  PEPPERS  235 

nished  by  Mr.  Allan  Knapp,  of  Anaheim,  who  is  widely  acquainted 
with  local  experience  in  the  pepper  district  of  Orange  county,  which 
is  credited  with  a  product  of  about  a  thousand  tons  of  dried  pep- 
pers a  year. 

Seed. — It  is  exceedingly  important  to  have  a  good  type  of 
plant,  and  this  can  be  secured  by  selecting  pods  in  the  field,  to 
furnish  seed  for  the  following  year,  from  low  bushy  vines  full  of 
pods  of  medium  length.  A  tall  bush  will  not  produce  as  many  pods 
and  it  is  more  liable  to  be  broken  by  strong  winds  when  loaded  with 
fruit.  Besides  the  end  of  the  pods  from  a  low  plant  will  rest  on 
the  ground,  and  in  that  position  they  will  prop  up  the  branches, 
providing  you  keep  crowding  a  little  earth  to  the  row  at  each  cul- 
tivation, as  will  be  described  later. 

When  these  seed  pods  are  gathered  put  them  on  a  string  and 
hang  up  to  dry  against  the  south  end  of  a  building.  Do  not  put 
them  into  the  evaporator  when  hotter  than  110  to  115°.  They  may 
stand  more  heat,  but  perhaps  only  50%  of  the  seed  may  germinate 
quickly,  and  the  other  half  may  delay  a  week  longer  than  those 
dried  in  the  sun;  neither  will  it  make  so  strong  a  plant. 

Growing  Seedlings. — Select  a  location  for  the  seed-bed  where 
good  drainage  may  be  had.  Sandy  soil  is  best,  but  not  so  poor 
that  it  contains  no  plant  food  to  nourish  the  young  plant.  Plow 
and  level  the  plot,  harrowing  or  raking  with  a  hand  rake,  as  only 
a  small  piece  of  land  is  used;  sow  seed  about  March  15  in  rows 
three  inches  apart,  covering  one-quarter  of  an  inch.  On  this  spread 
one-quarter  inch  with  sand.  Start  your  seed  beside  a  large  tree,  if 
you  have  one,  and  you  will  have  fair  success.  The  tree  will  drain 
your  land.  /If  the  young  plants  begin  to  die  by  "damping  off," 
take  a  trowel  and  dig  out  the  affected  spots  and  throw  them  away. 
The  plants  should  have  five  or  six  leaves  on  before  transplanting 
commences.  Wet  the  soil  of  the  seed-bed  thoroughly  before  lifting 
the  plants,  as  the  roots  are  damaged  less. 

Field  Planting. — Plow  the  field  deeply  early  in  the  winter  and 
keep  down  weeds  by  shallow  cultivation  until  planting  time,  when 
danger  of  frost  is  past.  The  chile  plant  is  very  sensitive  to  cold. 
May  1  is  a  good  time  for  planting.  Mark  field  off  in  rows  4^ 
feet  apart  and  set  2^2  feet  apart  in  rows.  Should  the  weather  be 
dry  and  irrigation  necessary  plow  a  furrow  beside  each  mark  and 
run  water  in  these  furrows  before  and  after  planting,  and  if  the 
weather  be  very  hot  two  or  three  irrigations  may  be  necessary  to 
start  plants.  Always  allow  24  hours  after  irrigating  before  plants 
are  set,  unless  soil  is  very  sandy.  Then  work  may  commence  sooner. 

When  through  with  the  irrigation  furrows,  plow  back  and  cul- 
tivate the  land  until  level  as  before.  Keep  soil  in  good  growing 
condition  always.  When  plants  are  12  to  15  inches  high  use  a 
ridger  (such  as  is  used  in  raising  levees  for  irrigation  checks)  with 
plenty  of  space  open  behind  and  straddle  each  row,  thus  drawing 
the  earth  to  each  side  of  plant  and  giving  it  support.  Water  may 


236  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

be  run  down  these  rows  at  this  time.  As  plants  grow  make  the 
ridge  wider  with  a  crowder  run  in  between  each  row.  This  ridge 
will  keep  plants  from  breaking  down  so  readily  when  laden  with 
fruit,  and  when  fruit  strikes  the  ground  it  will  not  decay  so  readily 
because  the  ridge  will  be  dry.  Do  not  make  your  first  ridging  too 
high,  and  do  not  do  the  work  too  late ;  if  so,  the  first  setting  will 
be  greatly  injured  by  pushing  the  earth  against  the  fruit,  thus  leav- 
ing no  room  for  it  to  grow,  and  many  pods  will  be  curly  and  eaten 
by  bugs. 

Growing  from  Seed  in  Place. — Allen  Brothers,  of  Garden 
Grove,  formerly  grew  plants  in  hot-beds  but  later  have  used  a 
garden  drill  to  put  the  seed  in  finely  pulverized  ground  in  the  field 
where  they  will  grow  without  transplanting.  This  is  usually  done 
in  the  first  half  of  March.  The  rows  are  3^  to  4  feet  apart  and 
the  seeds  are  sown  thick  enough  so  that  they  will  leave  a  good  stand 
when  thinned  to  20  inches  apart  at  3  to  6  inches  high.  The  ones 
thinned  out  may  be  transplanted  as  late  as  June  to  places  where 
there  are  not  enough  already.  But  little  water  is  necessary  in  trans- 
planting and  there  is  but  little  loss.  Considerable  dirt  may  be  taken 
up  with  the  plant,  as  it  is  usually  moved  only  a  few  feet  at  most. 

Shovel  cultivators  are  used  after  each  irrigation  on  the  harder 
lumpy  soils,  but  harrows  are  sufficient  on  the  sandy  soils.  Always 
bear  in  mind  that  peppers  have  a  widespread  root  system  near  the 
surface,  and  these  roots  should  not  be  cut.  The  same  thing  is  to 
be  remembered  in  ditching  for  irrigation.  Broad  flat  ditches  are 
right,  between  low  ridges  along  the  rows  to  keep  the  water  away 
from  the  plants. 

Irrigation. — Irrigation  is  the  most  particular  need  of  peppers; 
they  require  more  than  other  crops.  Allen  Brothers  irrigate  ten  to 
fifteen  times  per  season,  according  to  the  soil.  From  July  15  when 
the  fruit  begins  to  set,  the  vines  need  water  about  every  ten  days. 

Directly  after  an  irrigation  about  September  15,  burr  clover 
is  sown  for  fertilizer,  and  a  last  shallow  cultivation  is  immediately 
given.  The  clover  is,  of  course,  to  keep  up  the  fertility.  The  Aliens 
have  raised  peppers  three  or  four  years  in  succession  on  the  same 
fields;  but  they  usually  alternate  with  lima  beans,  which  also  build 
up  fertility. 

Gathering  and  Curing. — During  September  the  fruit  will  be- 
gin to  ripen,  the  time  of  ripening  depending  upon  the  soil  and  the 
care  of  the  crop.  In  sandy  soil  the  fruit  will  ripen  quicker  than 
in  deep  sediment.  If  the  plants  lack  moisture  they  will  ripen  much 
faster,  which  looks  well,  but  they  should  be  kept  green  as  long  as 
possible.  It  pays  better  in  the  end. 

The  crop  should  be  picked  as  each  setting  ripens;  go  over  the 
field  three  or  four  times.  A  pod  should  be  left  on  the  vine  until 
of  a  dark  red  and  it  has  lost  its  hardness,  being  somewhat  pliable. 
Have  the  crop  gathered  in  large  baskets,  but  they  should  be  hauled 
in  boxes  rather  than  sacks,  as  they  are  less  liable  to  be  bruised,  and 


PEPPERS   FOR  CANNING  AND  DRYING  237 

a  bruised  pod  is  liable  to  decay  unless  dried  at  once.  If  peppers 
are  to  be  dried  on  strings,  have  them  dumped  on  a  table  or  on  the 
ground,  as  you  prefer.  Allow  24  to  48  hours  for  stems  to  wilt 
after  gathering  before  they  are  put  on  the  string.  This  work  is 
done  by  running  a  twine  through  the  stem  of  each  chile,  the  twine 
to  be  Wy2  to  11  feet,  and  same  may  be  hung  on  a  scaffold  to  dry 
or  put  into  especially  made  evaporators.  Some  growers  report 
favorably  on  drying  their  crop  on  trays  instead  of  on  twine.  Dur- 
ing recent  years  most  of  the  drying  has  been  done  by  evaporators, 
which  is  accomplished  by  artificial  heat  in  six  or  eight  days. 

If  an  early  frost  should  catch  the  plants  pick  off  all  the  fruit 
both  ripe  and  green.  If  spread  on  trays  in  a  dry,  cool  place  much 
of  the  green  fruit  will  ripen. 

Soils  for  the  Commercial  Crop. — Although  peppers  can  be  suc- 
cessfully grown  in  any  good  garden  soil,  it  is  important  for  the 
field  crop  to  choose  deep,  rich,  sandy  loam,  or  sediment  soil,  which 
will  not  bake  very  rapidly.  The  young  plants  must  be  set  in  damp 
soil  and  if  land  should  easily  bake  it  will  become  hard  and  will  dry 
out  more  readily  about  the  young  plant  and  the  growth  will  be  very 
slow.  It  is  not  wise  to  grow  more  than  two  crops  of  peppers  on 
even  the  best  of  soils  without  fertilizing  very  liberally.  Cover  crops 
plowed  under  are  found  very  profitable. 

The  Crop  for  Canning  and  Drying. — At  Garden  Grove  in 
Orange  county  in  1914  Allen  Brothers,  who  grew  forty  of  the  esti- 
mated 750  acres  in  Orange  county  and  give  the  following  outline 
of  the  product,  sold  both  green  for  canning  and  dried  for  other 
uses.  The  yield  of  green  peppers  has  never  been  less  than  five  tons 
per  acre  and  has  been  as  high  as  fifteen  tons,  averaging  about  nine 
tons  green  besides  the  ones  left  to  ripen.  Very  many  growers  con- 
tract their  crops  to  the  canners  early  in  the  season. 

Green  peppers  which  are  not  suitable  for  the  canneries  or 
which  are  missed  by  the  pickers  during  the  short  time  they  are 
good  for  canning,  are  allowed  to  ripen  and  are  then  artificially 
dried.  If  all  are  allowed  to  ripen,  the  dried  crop  is  1500  to  3000 
pounds  per  acre  and  they  sell  at  seven  to  nineteen  cents  per  pound, 
averaging  about  ten  cents.  Often  the  crop  is  sold  green  and  less 
than  500  pounds  per  acre  are  dried.  A  large  part  of  this  500  pounds 
is  that  part  of  the  crop  which  is  green  when  frost  kills  the  plants 
in  November  to  February.  They  are  dried  on  trays  and  sold  at 
24  cents  to  be  ground  up  for  chicken  feed. 

When  the  whole  crop  is  dried  they  are  hung  up  in  a  shed  over 
dry  or  steam  heat  five  to  seven  days.  The  old  custom  of  drying 
them  in  the  sun  is  not  now  common  because  many  of  the  ripe  pep- 
pers rot  before  they  dry  that  way.  Some  of  them  are  ready  to 
pick  November  1,  and  were  picked  one  season  for  drying  until 
February  15,  which  is  exceptional. 

In  the  sheltered  foothills,  they  pick  green  ones  all  the  year 
around.  In  the  level  country  about  Los  Angeles,  green  peppers 


238  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

are  picked  for  the  canneries  from  about  August  15  till  frost.  Each 
pepper  is  suitable  for  picking  only  a  short  time,  not  over  two  weeks, 
and  is  in  best  condition  just  before  it  begins  to  turn  red.  None 
should  be  overlooked  early  in  the  season,  for  the  more  you  pick, 
the  more  blossoms  will  come  and  new  ones  be  set. 

Varieties. — The  varieties  chiefly  grown  for  home  use  and  mar- 
keting green  are  Large  Bell  or  Bull-nose,  an  early  variety  of  mild 
flavor,  fruit  large,  slightly  tapering  and  generally  terminating  in 
four  obtuse,  cone-like  points.  It  is  a  favorite  sort,  both  for  pickling 
and  for  table  use.  Sweet  Mountain  is  another  popular  variety  sim- 
ilar to  the  foregoing,  but  larger  and  milder  in  flavor,  and  Chinese 
Giant  is  an  immense  pepper,  often  twice  as  large  as  Large  Bell. 
Recently  the  Pimiento  has  been  gaining  rapidly  in  popularity  for 
beauty,  mild  flavor  and  desirability  for  canning. 

The  standard  for  hot  pepper  and  for  the  dried  crop  is  the 
Mexican  chile,  long,  narrow  pods  on  a  low-growing,  narrow-leaved 
plant.  One  type  is  a  very  dark,  thick-meated,  cone-shaped  chile, 
growing  form  4  to  6  inches  long,  which  is  gaining  ground;  while 
the  Long  Red,  or  Anaheim  chile,  having  pods  from  6  to  10  inches 
long,  is  the  best  known.  The  plant  is  strong  and  holds  its  fruit  up 
well  and  is  very  productive.  There  is  also  a  longer  variety  with 
pods  up  to  fourteen  inches  in  length,  which,  however,  is  claimed 
to  be  less  productive  and  light  when  dried,  though  the  flesh  is  quite 
thick  when  green. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 
POTATOES. 

THE  POTATO. — Solatium  tuberosum. 

French,  pomme  de  terre;  German,  kartoffel;  Dutch,  aardappel;  Danish, 
jordepeeren;  Italian,  patata;  Spanish  and  Portuguese,  patatas. 

THE  SWEET  POTATO. — Convolvulus  batatas. 
French,  patate  douce;  Italian,  patata;  Spanish  and  Portuguese,  batata. 

Potatoes  may  be  grown  everywhere  in  California  without  irri- 
gation, except  on  strictly  arid  plains  and  deserts,  and  it  needs  but 
slight  watering  to  enable  the  light  but  rich  soils  of  the  arid  regions 
to  surpass  the  naturally  moist  lands  both  in  the  size  and  quality  of 
their  produce.     Some  of  the  grandest  potatoes  ever  grown  in  the 
state  have  been  taken  from  light,  warm  soils  whose  natural  growth 
was  sagebrush  and  other  desert  flora.    The  superiority  of  the  higher, 
lighter  lands,  either  with  adequate  rainfall  or  irrigation,  to  the  moist 
lowlands  of  the  interior  river  bottoms  or  the  coast  valleys,  have 
been  clearly  recognized  during  recent  years.     In  the  earlier  days, 
the  coast  and  interior  river  bottoms  were  supposed  to  be,  par  ex- 
cellence, the  potato  regions,  and  their  products  were  transported 
great  distances  to  interior  uplands  which  were  thought  to  be  unfit 
for  the  plant.    Now  the  choicest  potatoes  are  grown  in  these  places 
and  the  production  in  the  older  regions  has  decreased,  though  the 
potato  still  constitutes  an  important  crop.    The  present  situation  is, 
that  the  potato  fields  may  be  seen  everywhere  from  the  skirts  of 
the  cliffs  which  look  down  upon  the  ocean,  along  the  bottoms  and 
sides  of  the  coast  valleys,  on  the  reclaimed  lands  and  benches  of 
the  great  interior  rivers,  up  the  slopes  of  the  foothills  and  in  the 
mountain  valleys  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  and  out  beyond,  upon  the 
stretches  of  sagebrush,  wherever  water  can  be  had  to  turn  the 
desert  into  a  garden.     California  has  a  capacity  for  potato  pro- 
duction beyond  the  ability  of  any  available  market  to  handle,  and 
though  a  few  years  ago  it  seemed  likely  that  our  climatic  advantages 
in  early  production  would  give  us  command  of  distant  consumption 
at  certain  times  of  the  year,  it  has  since  been  shown  that  much  less 
can  be  profitably  done  in  this  direction  than  was  anticipated.    There 
have  been  in  some  years  very  large  shipments  at  reduced  freight 
rates  when  the  eastern  production  was  deficient,  but  the  potato  is 
ordinarily  too  cheap  an  article  to  endure  the  cost  of  long  transpor- 
tation.    In  1916  California  was  eighth  in  the  rank  of  the  United 
States   in   potato   production,   with   10,575,000   bushels   grown  on 
75,000  acres,  with  a  farm  value  for  the  crop  of  $14,805,000.    The 
production  was  about  the  same  as  during  the  preceding  five  years  but 
the  valuation  was  nearly  doubled  by  war  prices.    The  record  yield 

[239] 


240  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

of  the  state  is  held  by  the  Boa  Vista  ranch  of  El  Dorado  county, 
where  a  selected  acre  produced  47,254  pounds  of  merchantable  po- 
tatoes and  2559  pounds  of  culls  and  received  the  award  by  the 
State  Horticultural  Commission  in  1915. 

Situations.— Though,  as  has  been  stated,  the  potato  grows 
wherever  adequate  moisture  is  assured,  there  is  much  difference 
in  the  times  of  the  year  at  which  maturity  is  attained.  Though  the 
potato  is  a  tender  plant  it  will  endure  light  frosts,  nor  does  it  al- 
ways yield  its  life  when  the  frost  blights  the  foliage.  Dormant 
buds  lower  on  the  stem  develop  into  a  new  top  growth.  It  is,  there- 
fore, possible  to  secure  fall  and  even  winter  growth  in  places  where 
a  strictly  tender  plant  like  the  bean  would  perish.  Where  only 
light  frosts  occur  and  where  irrigation  is  provided  to  supplement 
rainfall,  it  is  possible  to  have  new  potatoes  all  the  year  and  to  bring 
to  edible  condition  three  crops  successively  on  the  same  ground 
within  a  twelve  month,  though  it  is,  of  course,  better  to  let  the 
potato  take  its  place  in  a  rotation. 

New  Potatoes. — The  first  new  potatoes  from  a  California  point 
of  view,  would  be  the  crop  that  comes  with  the  first  green  peas, 
counting  July  1  as  the  beginning  of  the  year.  In  fact,  in  the  San 
Francisco  district,  the  first  potatoes  and  peas  come  from  the  same 
localities.  They  make  their  growth  in  the  fall  from  planting  on 
ground  well  soaked  by  irrigation  in  July  and  August.  The  regions 
for  this  work  are  those  in  which  fall  frosts  are  light  or  do  not 
occur  at  all — the  thermal  belts  at  different  elevations  on  the  hill- 
sides both  on  the  Coast  Range  and  the  Sierra  Nevada,  also  on  the 
warm  interior  plains  of  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joaquin  valleys, 
but  not  usually  on  the  river  bottoms  of  large  valleys  nor  on  the 
low  places  in  small  valleys.  Owing,  however,  to  the  partial  resist- 
ance to  frost  of  the  potato,  there  are  very  wide  areas  both  on  the 
coast  and  in  the  interior  of  central  and  southern  California,  where 
the  fall  growth  of  potatoes  is  safe  and  worth  wider  attention  than 
is  given  to  it.  Where  irrigation  may  be  had  to  start  the  seed  well 
the  fall  rains  usually  carry  on  the  growth. 

Fall  Crop  in  the  Valley  Garden. — Starting  potatoes  in  the 
autumn  in  the  interior  valley  has  some  difficulties.  Old  seed  from 
cold  storage  rots  badly  when  transferred  to  the  soil  under  a  July 
and  August  sun,  and  new  crop  seed  may  lie  long  dormant  or  rot 
also.  A  plan  which  works  well  in  small  plantings  for  home  use  is 
described  by  W.  T.  Kirkman,  of  Merced,  in  this  way : 

I  conceived  the  idea  of  sprouting  the  potatoes  and  transplanting  somewhat 
after  the  manner  of  sweet  potato  planting.  I  procured  a  quantity  of  well- 
matured  small  Early  Rose  potatoes.  I  spread  them  in  a  plant  shed,  one  and  two 
layers  deep  and  covered  with  two  or  three  inches  of  sand.  One  part  I  covered 
with  sawdust  (old  chaff  will  do).  I  kept  this  bed  well  watered  by  using  the 
sprinkler  on  it  daily.  In  three  or  four  weeks  sprouts  began  to  appear.  These 
I  extracted  carefully  with  the  parent  potato  attached  and  planted  at  once. 
I  went  through  this  bed  at  intervals  of  a  week  apart,  four  times.  For  each 
of  these  plantings  I  had  to  flood  a  strip  three  or  four  days  in  advance,  and 


NEW  POTATOES  ALL  THE  YEAR  241 

as  soon  as  the  ground  was  broken  and  hoed,  the  plants  were  set  by  line  and 
the  ground  firmed  at  base  around  the  tubers  by  hand.  They  were  inserted 
about  five  inches  deep,  the  tops  in  most  cases  being  covered  loosely.  On  good 
potato  land,  this  flooding  and  plowing  when  the  ground  is  fully  damp  and  yet 
in  good  pulverizing  order  and  followed  by  a  good  shallow  cultivation,  insures 
moisture  for  a  crop. 

Later  New  Potatoes. — Planting  for  what  may  be  called  the 
second  run  of  new  potatoes  requires  stricter  attention  to  thermal 
conditions.  This  crop  must  be  growing  in  December  and  January, 
which  are  our  months  of  heaviest  frosts  and  rainfall  usually.  Strictly 
thermal  belts,  to  be  found  at  different  elevations  on  hillsides,  gen- 
erally within  the  reach  of  ocean  influences  in  the  south  half  of  the 
California  coast  line,  but  also  here  and  there  on  the  hillsides  of  the 
interior,  favor  the  growth  of  the  potato  all  through  the  winter,  if 
the  soil  be  light  and  kept  warm  by  free  escape  of  surplus  water  and 
abundant  winter  sunshine. 

The  third  run  of  new  potatoes  is  secured  by  the  planting  of 
the  early  varieties  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  heaviest  frosts  of 
the  locality  are  over,  and  the  soil  becomes  warm  enough  to  push 
growth.  This  is  the  main  potato  planting  season  of  California,  and 
covers  a  wide  range  of  dates,  beginning  with  January  on  light,  well- 
drained  soils  at  the  south  to  get  the  earliest  new  potatoes  for  east- 
ern shipment  in  May,  of  which  about  a  thousand  carloads  are  an- 
nually shipped  eastward  from  Orange,  Los  Angeles  and  San  Ber- 
nardino counties.  Planting  continues  in  February,  not  only  in  the 
south,  but  on  warm  uplands  all  through  the  central  portion  of  the 
state,  and  later  with  planting  all  through  March,  April  and  May,  as 
spring  conditions  come  successively  to  the  upper  coast  valleys  and 
the  mountain  regions,  or  as  the  river  lowlands  are  drained  o/  their 
surplus  water.  In  fact  on  interior  river  lands  planting  is  done  as 
late  as  June  and  July  and  the  crop  comes  on  rapidly  with  ample 
heat  and  moisture.  In  fact  on  these  moist  lowlands,  planting  is 
proceeding  in  midsummer  on  the  same  fields  from  which  matured 
potatoes  are  being  harvested  from  February  planting.  This,  how- 
ever, though  possible,  is  not  good  practice  usually  because  the  potato 
likes  new  land  and  is  advantaged  by  rotation. 

Always  New  Potatoes. — Thus  it  appears  that  potato  planting 
covers  the  entire  year,  and  that  while  some  parts  of  the  state  are 
digging  their  main  crop,  other  parts  are  making  their  first  planting. 
To  bring  the  matter  nearer  to  a  point  it  may  be  said  that  a  man  in 
the  central  coast  region  may  be  eating  new  potatoes  from  his  hill- 
side while  he  is  planting  his  main  crop  on  his  lowlands.  And  yet 
one  is  frequently  asked  to  answer  categorically  the  question :  "When 
do  you  plant  potatoes  in  California?"  Obviously  it  is  a  local  ques- 
tion, to  be  learned  by  experience,  observation  and  inquiry,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  general  conditions  outlined  in  the  chapter  on  the 
planting  season  in  California.  In  connection,  however,  with  this 
wide  liberty  in  planting,  taking  the  state  as  a  whole,  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  local  requirements  are  sometimes  very  sharp 


242  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

and  that  planting  on  the  interior  plains  or  in  other  parts  of  the 
state  where  there  is  high  heat  and  drought,  or  the  soil  becomes  dry 
even  with  moderate  heat,  planting  must  be  undertaken  early  enough 
to  allow  a  large  part  of  the  development  of  the  plant  before  such 
stress  comes.  Local  failures  with  potatoes  may,  therefore,  be  often 
attributed  to  neglect  of  planting  as  soon  as  moisture  and  tempera- 
ture conditions  favor  growth  in  each  locality. 

Soils. — Light,  rich  loams  are  best  for  potatoes  as  they  favor 
root  extension  and  expansion  of  tubers  and  they  are  retentive 
enough  to  hold  the  moderate  amount  of  moisture  which  ministers 
to  the  highest  quality.  Very  near  the  coast  well-cultivated,  light 
uplands  receive  atmospheric  moisture  enough  to  sustain  the  deep 
verdure  of  the  potato  fields,  while  the  pastures  are  sere  and  yellow. 
Summer  growth  on  interior  plains  and  foothill  slopes  and  mountain 
plateaus  is  sustained  by  less  irrigation  than  many  other  crops  re- 
quire, and  winter  growth,  whenever  feasible,  is  best  on  light,  free 
soils.  The  sediment  and  peat  of  the  river  lands  are  also,  in  their 
season,  light  and  warm.  But  the  potato  insists  upon  adequate 
moisture,  though  its  claim  is  moderate.  It  cannot  give  satisfaction 
unless  its  moisture  requirements  are  met. 

Heavy  soils  in  garden  culture  can  be  greatly  improved  as  de- 
scribed in  Chapter  IV.  Early  and  deep  working  of  the  soil  and  the 
plowing  in  of  rotten  straw  and  compost  and  thorough  mixture  of 
these  materials  through  the  soil  will  have  marked  effect,  but  heavy 
land  potatoes  seldom  have  the  beauty  and  flavor  of  the  product  of 
the  light,  rich  loams. 

Fertilising. — Stable  manure  may  be  freely  used  if  applied  a 
few  months  before  planting  and  worked  into  the  soil  when  moist 
enough  to  promote  decomposition.  Ten  or  twelve  tons  to  the  acre 
have  been  used  to  advantage.  This  may  be  followed  by  commer- 
cial fertilizers  just  before  planting.  In  the  case  of  the  record  crop 
in  El  Dorado  county,  previously  mentioned,  twelve  tons  of  stable 
manure  per  acre  were  spread  and  plowed  in  in  December.  In  May 
the  winter  growth  of  green  stuff  was  plowed  in  and  then  a  ton  per 
acre  of  commercial  fertilizer,  analyzing  five  per  cent  nitrogen,  seven 
per  cent  phosphoric  acid  and  eight  per  cent  potash,  was  disked  in 
and  the  crop  planted. 

Culture. — Deep  working  of  the  soil  is  essential  in  preparation 
for  potatoes  as  has  already  been  urged  for  beets  and  other  root 
crops.  The  soil  must  be  made  mellow  to  a  good  depth  and  kept 
mellow  by  subsequent  cultivation. 

Certified  Seed  Potatoes. — Assurance  of  good  quality  and  free- 
dom from  disease  in  seed  potatoes  can  now  be  had  in  California  by 
discriminating  planters.  The  state  legislature  of  1914-15  passed  a 
law  known  as  the  California  Certified  Seed  Potato  Act,  which  es- 
tablishes a  standard  for  good  seed  potatoes.  The  administration  of 
this  law  is  in  the  hands  of  the  State  Horticultural  Commission  at 
Sacramento,  from  whom  details  may  be  obtained  on  application. 


PLANTING  POTATOES  243 

Seed  potatoes  to  receive  certification  must  be  free  from  the  pests 
and  diseases  specified  in  the  law  cited. 

Unless  the  seed  potatoes  are  old  and  show  active  eyes,  they 
should  be  exposed  to  the  light  for  about  two  weeks  to  advance  ger- 
mination. This  is  especially  the  case  when  the  tubers  of  an  early  crop 
are  used  for  later  planting  the  same  season  or  when  seed  potatoes 
are  taken  from  cold  storage.  In  that  case,  vitalize  it  by  exposure 
to  half  sunlight  for  two  weeks  or  more  and  see  that  it  is  disposed 
to  sprout  before  planting.  This  is  a  rational  treatment  for  all  po- 
tatoes which  do  not  seem  to  be  starting  their  eyes.  In  the  fresh 
seed  it  promotes  maturity;  in  stored  seed  it  determines  viability. 
Never  mind  if  it  greens  the  tuber — that  is  no  objection,  though,  of 
course,  one  does  not  wish  to  blister  or  burn  the  skin  by  too  much 
direct  sunshine. 

All  proposed  methods  of  seed-cutting  have  been  tried  in  Cali- 
fornia, and  each  has  its  advocates.  When  the  soil  and  season  favor, 
excellent  crops  are  grown  from  small  potatoes  used  as  seed,  but 
commendation  of  small  potatoes  for  seed  does  not  include  the 
"nuts,"  which  are  usually  immature,  without  well  developed  eyes, 
etc.  Besides,  these  "nuts"  do  not  have  bulk  of  starch  sufficient  to 
strongly  start  new  plants.  The  smaller  potatoes  are  good  for  seed 
providing  they  have  bulk  enough  and  are  well  matured.  They  are 
preferred  in  planting  for  second  crop  in  the  interior  because  large 
potatoes  will  rot  if  cut  and  have  too  many  eyes  if  not  cut.  Some 
growers  grow  their  own  seed  small  purposely  by  crowding  the 
plants,  culture  otherwise  being  as  it  should  be,  so  that  the  small 
potatoes  are  from  good  stock  and  not  runts.  Generally  the  selected 
fair-sized,  merchantable  potatoes,  cut  into  quarters  lengthwise,  pro- 
duce best  results.  Cutting  to  single  eyes  is  not  a  good  commercial 
practice.  In  certain  prize  contests,  with  a  maximum  of  favorable 
conditions  in  soil  and  fertilizing  and  cultivation,  the  greatest  yields 
have  sometimes  been  had  by  single-eye  planting.  Under  ordinary 
conditions  the  thriftiest  plants  come  from  eyes  which  started  with 
a  good  amount  of  the  plant-food  stored  in  the  tuber — therefore 
cutting  into  two-ounce  pieces  is  commended  by  some,  while  most 
planters  do  not  cut  at  all,  unless  the  seed  tubers  are  above  average 
size. 

When  things  are  otherwise  favorable,  the  size  of  the  crop 
usually  bears  relation  to  the  weight  of  the  seed  used  to  the  acre — 
therefore  a  good  weight  of  seed  is  a  good  investment. 

There  is  no  advantage  in  cutting  long  before  planting;  there 
is  more  danger  of  injury  by  fermentation. 

Distance  between  pieces  in  the  furrow  depends  upon  the  ten- 
dency of  the  potatoes  to  grow  too  large.  This  is  often  corrected 
by  dropping  more  thickly.  The  range  is  from  twelve  to  twenty 
inches  usually.  It  is  usual  to  use  from  ten  to  fifteen  sacks  of  po- 
tatoes in  planting  an  acre — sometimes  even  more  seed  is  used. 


244  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

In  the  field  much  planting  is  done  with  the  plow  by  dropping 
the  "seed"  in  every  third  of  fourth  furrow  so  as  to  bring  the  roots 
about  three  feet  apart,  and  covering  with  the  following  furrow. 
Depth  of  planting  depends  upon  season  and  soil  as  described  in 
Chapter  XI;  the  same  principles  governing  as  in  the  planting  of 
seed.  After  the  seed  is  plowed  in  to  a  depth  of  four  to  eight  inches, 
according  to  season  and  soil,  a  thorough  cross-harrowing  should 
leave  the  field  in  good  shape.  On  light  soils  disposed  to  be  dry,  a 
light  rolling  may  be  beneficial.  As  soon  as  the  plants  appear,  har- 
rowing with  the  rows  mellows  the  surface,  kills  the  small  weeds,  and 
does  not  hurt  the  potatoes.  Cultivation  between  the  rows  should 
soon  follow  and  the  surface  should  be  kept  loose  until  the  plants 
are  quite  high.  Good,  clean  culture  is  the  rule  with  potatoes.  In 
some  soils,  not  disposed  to  dry  out  too  rapidly  nor  to  crust,  crops 
are  often  made  with  little  cultivation  after  weeds  stop  growing, 
especially  where  the  plant  has  the  benefit  of  coast  influences,  but 
cultivation  for  moisture  retention,  where  needed,  must  be  more 
thorough. 

On  lands  subject  to  excess  of  moisture,  winter  growth  of  po- 
tatoes can  be  facilitated  by  the  ridge  planting  described  in  Chapter 
VII ;  but  where  this  is  not  likely  to  occur,  reasonably  flat  culture  is 
best,  both  in  winter  and  summer.  Where  potatoes  are  to  be  irri-' 
gated  a  slight  moving  of  the  soil  toward  the  row,  so  as  to  make  the 
interspace  a  little  hollow  to  carry  water,  is  admissible,  but  "hilling 
up"  must  not  uncover  the  firm  soil  and  expose  the  roots  to  too 
great  heat  and  drought.  Too  high  a  ridge  is  also  likely  to  bring 
the  tubers  within  reach  of  the  moth  from  whose  eggs  come  the 
potato  worms.  During  the  latter  part  of  the  growth  the  tuber 
should  be  well  covered  with  soil. 

Irrigation. — The  potato  should  be  kept  growing  thriftily  from 
start  to  finish.  If  growth  is  arrested  by  drought,  a  new  growth  of 
small  potatoes  is  apt  to  start  upon  renewal  of  moisture,  to  the  detri- 
ment of  the  crop.  The  aim  should  be,  then,  to  keep  the  soil  ade- 
quately moist  until  maturity  approaches.  This  is  best  done  by  run- 
ning small  streams  between  the  rows,  the  planting  having  been 
arranged  for  this  distribution.  As  already  stated,  excessive  irriga- 
tion is  decidedly  detrimental  to  the  quality  of  the  crop,  and  extra 
effort  must  be  made  for  even  distribution  of  the  water.  To  allow 
low  places  to  fill  up  with  water  is  injurious  and  to  allow  the  water 
to  come  in  contact  with  the  plant  stems  is  also  dangerous.  A  good, 
thorough  and  uniform  wetting  of  the  soil  is  often  enough  to  finish 
the  crop  and  it  is  seldom  desirable  to  irrigate  after  the  bloom  ap- 
pears. Thorough  surface  cultivation  should  follow  the  irrigation, 
for  the  reasons  stated  in  the  chapter  on  that  subject. 

In  connection  with  the  irrigation  of  potatoes  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  many  troubles  may  arise  from  irregularity  in  the  moist- 
ure supply  of  the  growing  tuber.  Sometimes  potatoes  are  planted 
on  ground  which  is  dry  underneath  instead  of  being  well  wet  down 


GROWING  POTATOES  UNDER  STRAW  245 

either  by  irrigation  or  rainfall.  Potatoes  grow  more  regularly  if 
they  do  not  have  intermittent  moisture  supply,  therefore,  it  is  better 
to  soak  the  ground  before  plowing,  bringing  the  crop  along  that 
way  if  possible,  or  irrigating  subsequently  as  may  seem  to  be  neces- 
sary, but  in  no  case  should  the  plant  be  allowed  to  arrest  its  growth 
and  start  again  after  irrigation.  Of  course,  when  potatoes  have 
stopped  growth  and  are  subsequently  irrigated,  the  irrigation  can- 
not cure  the  trouble,  but  really  increases  it,  because  it  causes  a 
second  growth  to  be  made.  The  potato  must  be  kept  moving  or  it 
will  move  the  wrong  way. 

Mulching. — For  the  last  twenty-five  years  the  practice  of  grow- 
ing potatoes  on  the  interior  plains  by  the  help  of  a  straw  mulch  has 
been  followed  to  some  extent.  It  has  recently  been  proposed  at  the 
East  as  a  new  method,  but  it  is  really  quite  old.  The  seed  is  plowed 
in  with  a  shallow  furrow  so  as  to  cover  about  three  or  four  inches, 
then  cover  the  whole  surface  with  partly  decayed  straw  from  an 
old  stack  or  with  coarse  manure.  The  mulch  will  retain  moisture 
enough  to  mature  a  crop.  There  need  be  no  plowing,  hoeing,  nor 
weeding,  and  it  is  held  by  those  who  advocate  the  method,  that  the 
labor  of  putting  on  straw  is  compensated  for  in  the  saving  of  hoe- 
ing and  weeding.  It  is  also  a  safe  way  to  grow  early  potatoes  in 
frosty  places  because  the  mulch  protects  the  dormant  buds  at  the 
base  of  the  stems  and  new  foliage  quickly  grows  if  the  old  is  nipped 
by  frost.  Potato  sprouts  are  sometimes  saved  from  frost  injury  by 
turning  light  soil  over  them  lightly;  subsequently  they  may  be  un- 
covered or  allowed  to  grow  through. 

Harvesting. — Potato  diggers  or  plows  are  used  to  some  extent 
in  California,  but  the  common  method  of  gathering  is  by  means  of 
a  long-handled  shovel  which  is  dexterously  pushed  beneath  the 
plant  so  that  all  the  tubers  are  thrown  out  at  one  operation.  The 
yield  of  potatoes  varies  from  five  to  nine  tons  per  acre  on  good 
soil,  properly  cultivated. 

Storing. — As  the  summer  and  fall  climate  of  California  is  al- 
most rainless  and  the  frosts  seldom  severe  enough  to  freeze  a  po- 
tato in  a  sack,  the  tubers  are  generally  sacked  and  piled  in  the  field 
for  weeks  and  months.  This  advantage  is  turned  by  careless  grow- 
ers into  a  disadvantage,  because  the  potatoes  are  often  seriously 
injured  by  heat  and  light  and  shriveled  by  dry,  hot  winds.  Potatoes 
should  be  stored  in  a  dark,  dry  place  and  screened  from  access  by 
the  moth  which  lays  eggs  also  on  stored  potatoes  and  makes  them 
wormy.  If  left  in  the  field  for  a  time  the  piles  should  be  covered 
with  straw  or  dry  tops,  thickly  enough  to  exclude  the  moth. 

CHIEF  TROUBLES  OF  THE  POTATO  GROWER. 

The  pests  and  diseases  which  give  the  California  potato  grower 
most  trouble  are  outlined  by  the  late  A.  J.  Cook  as  follows : 

There  are  three  fungous  diseases  that  affect  the  potato,  tubers  or  vines, 
or  both;  the  common  scab,  which  disfigures  the  tubers;  the  rhizoctonia  fun- 


246  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

gus,  which  affects  the  vines  and  roots  so  that  the  growing  potatoes  secure  too 
little  nutrition  and  fail  to  develop,  thus  looking  like  a  bunch  of  grapes,  hence 
the  name  "little  potato."  These  often  appear  above  ground.  The  third  is  the 
fusarium  wilt,  which  also  blights  the  vines  and  the  roots  and  later  the  tubers, 
which  become  diseased  and  are  often  destroyed. 

Scab  and  rhizoctonia  are  carried  in  the  soil  which  has  previously  borne 
diseased  potatoes,  and  so  contains  the  germs,  ready  to  inoculate  newly  planted 
seed.  Both  these  diseases  also  carry  on  affected  seed,  germs  which  serve  to 
spread  the  destruction.  These  two  evils  are  alike,  in  that  seed  affected  by 
either  one  yields  to  treatment,  if  immersed  for  two  hours  in  corrosive  sub- 
limate, 1  to  1000 — 1  ounce  to  8  gallons  of  water — or  in  formalin,  1  ounce  to 
2  gallons  of  water. 

The  rough  eruptions  (scab),  so  ugly  in  appearance,  quickly  reveal  the 
presence  of  scab.  It  does  not  reduce  the  yield,  but  so  mars  the  tubers  that 
the  price  is  materially  lessened. 

The  destructive  rhizoctonia  appears  as  specks  of  dirt  from  the  size  of  a 
pinhead  to  quite  sizable  patches.  They  are  not  dirt,  however,  for  washing 
does  not  remove  them.  We  can,  however,  scrape  them  off  with  the  finger  nail 
without  wounding  the  potato,  which  we  cannot  do  if  the  spots  are  scab.  When 
thus  removed  the  potato  is  not  wounded.  Of  course,  scab,  which  often  resem- 
bles rhizoctonia,  cannot  be  removed  without  breaking  the  tissue. 

The  third  fungus,  worse  than  rhizoctonia  and  far  worse  than  scab,  is  the 
fusarium  wilt.  This  blights  the  vine,  kills  the  roots,  stops  growth  and  is  fatal 
to  the  crop.  The  vines  die  prematurely,  and  the  potatoes  which  are  not  suffi- 
ciently diseased  to  be  observed  on  the  exterior  surface,  will  often  show  the 
work  of  the  fungus  if  a  slice  is  cut  from  the  stem  end  of  the  tuber.  A  dis- 
colored spot,  usually  a  ring  on  the  cut  surface,  indicates  that  the  disease  is 
present  and  that  the  seed  is  unfit  to  plant.  The  nematode  called  an  eelworm 
causes  a  rough,  lumpy  appearance  of  the  skin  and  darkens  the  fleshy  part, 
especially  close  to  the  peel.  The  roughened  surface  quickly  reveals  this  affec- 
tion, and  eelworm  potatoes  should  never  be  planted. 

The  tuber  moth  bores  through  the  tubers  and  blackens  the  tissue.  Keep 
the  potatoes  well  covered  with  earth  during  the  entire  growing  season  and 
remove  all,  even  the  smallest,  from  the  field  as  soon  as  dry  after  digging.  The 
potatoes  should  be  placed  at  once  in  moth-tight  sacks,  as  the  moths  continue 
to  work  after  the  potatoes  are  stored,  and  thus  it  is  imperative  to  carefully 
guard  against  their  presence  wherever  potatoes  are  stored. 

The  foregoing  troubles  are  to  be  avoided  by  planting  healthy 
seed  in  clean  ground  and  they  are  contemplated  in  the  law  pro- 
viding for  certification  of  seed  potatoes  in  the  law  of  1915,  which 
has  been  cited.  A  few  other  minor  troubles  may  be  noted. 

Potatoes  Going  to  Tops. — Sometimes  potatoes  "grow  all  to 
tops"  and  have  a  great  number  of  diminutive  potatoes  that  also 
sprout  and  grow  more  small  potatoes.  Excessive  top  growth  is 
generally  due  to  over-stimulation  of  the  plant  during  its  early  life. 
This  may  be  due  to  excessive  use  of  stable  manure  applied  too  near 
planting  time  or  to  the  lack  of  adaptation  of  the  variety  to  the  local 
conditions.  Where  this  excessive  top  growth  occurs  small  pota- 
toes form  but  are  not  adequately  enlarged  by  return  flow  from  the 
top  in  process  of  maturing.  The  reason  why  these  small  potatoes 
take  to  sprouting  instead  of  enlarging  as  they  ought  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  plant  starting  vigorously  with  too  much  moisture  be- 
came afterward  too  dry  and  then  starting  again  caused  the  small 


TROUBLES  OF -POTATO  GROWERS  247 

potatoes  after  becoming  abnormally  checked  in  growth  to  break 
out  with  secondary  tubers. 

Aerial  Tubers. — Sometimes  tubers  appear  upon  the  stems 
above  ground  and  none  are  found  below  ground  as  they  should  be. 
They  come  about  in  this  way;  normally  the  potato  tuber  is  an  en- 
largement of  an  underground  stem,  formed  by  the  action  of  the 
return  flow  of  the  sap  of  the  plant.  The  upward  flow  of  sap  is 
largely  through  ducts  in  the  central  parts  of  the  aerial  stems.  The 
downward  flow  of  sap,  after  its  elaboration  by  the  leaf-surfaces,  is 
through  the  tissue  which  lies  just  under  the  skin  or  bark  of  the 
stem  and  it  deposits  its  burden  in  the  tuber  underground.  When 
this  tissue  is  injured  in  some  way  so  that  the  return-flow  of  sap 
cannot  pass  along  to  making  tubers  underground  it  goes  to  work 
above  the  injuries  and  makes  tubers  in  the  air.  The  tubers  are 
simply  modified  stems  either  above  or  below  ground,  as  conditions 
may  determine.  Injury  to  the  stem  may  be  mechanical — such  as  a 
scrape  with  the  hoe,  the  work  of  an  insect  or  a  disease.  Anything 
that  holds  up  the  sap  may  do  it,  if  the  plant  is  otherwise  vigorous 
enough  for  it.  Fortunately  it  is  of  rare  occurrence. 

Leaky  Potatoes. — Sometimes  potatoes  go  off  quickly  after 
sacking  and  discharge  so  much  liquid  that  the  trouble  is  called 
"leak"  disease.  It  is  caused  by  a  fungus  which  exists  in  the  soil 
and  is  usually  introduced  to  the  potato  by  a  worm  in  digging.  The 
only  remedy  so  far  known  for  this  disease  is  to  prevent  the  wound- 
ing of  the  tuber  if  they  must  be  harvested  during  warm  weather. 
After  a  severe  frost  occurs  very  little  trouble  is  experienced  from 
this  disease. 

Potato  Blights. — It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  the  great  "potato 
blight,"  as  the  world  knows  that  disease,  is  not  a  great  trouble  of 
the  potato  in  California — in  fact,  this  disease  is  largely  conditioned 
upon  excessive  moisture  in  the  air  and  that  seldom  occurs  during 
sufficient  duration  even  in  the  rainy  season  except  in  the  upper  coast 
district.  When  that  district  was  largely  producing  potatoes  there 
was  trouble  with  "blight,"  or  more  properly  "late  blight,"  until 
resistant  varieties  were  introduced.  Another  disease  known  as 
"early  blight,"  appearing  in  the  spring  time,  is  rather  more  abun- 
dant but  even  that  is  only  active  when  the  air  is  cool  and  moist. 
These  blights  are  manifested  by  blackening  of  the  top  growth  of 
leaf  and  stem.  Wherever  these  blights  occur  the  treatment  is 
prompt  spraying  with  the  Bordeaux  mixture  as  described  in  Chap- 
ter XXXVIII.  It  should  be  applied  when  the  new  growth  is  about 
six  inches  high  and  repeated  two  or  three  times  at  intervals  of 
about  ten  days, 

Varieties. — As  with  other  vegetables,  California  has  tried  many 
kinds  of  potatoes  and  grows  very  few  on  a  commercial  scale.  The 
first  notable  varieties  were  brought  from  Chile  and  Peru  in  very 
early  days,  and  are  still  grown  to  some  extent,  though  the  main 


248  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

crop  is  now  made  of  newer  kinds  because  in  some  localities  the 
old  varieties  ran  out  and  showed  great  susceptibility  to  blight. 

The  blight,  which  was  some  years  ago  a  serious  menace  to 
potato  growing,  has  been  largely  circumvented  by  the  introduction 
of  new  varieties  which  were  thrifty  while  the  old  varieties  on  ad- 
jacent ground  perished.  For  this  reason  new  varieties  should  be 
tested  in  all  localities. 

The  potato  which  constitutes  most  of  the  market  crop  is  the 
Burbank.  For  mid-season  and  late  potatoes  nothing  compares  with 
the  Burbank.  For  early  potatoes  the  old  Early  Rose  still  prevails 
widely,  though  Chili  is  encroaching  upon  it  in  northern  and  cen- 
tral California.  Triumph  is  a  little  earlier  and  is  gaining  ground. 
Early  White  Rose  constitutes  the  greatest  part  of  the  southern  Cali- 
fornia crop,  and  Early  Ohio  is  also  popular.  American  Wonder, 
British  Queen  and  Pearl  are  advancing  as  later  varieties. 

Although  there  are  local  adaptations  of  different  varieties,  the 
character  of  the  potato  depends  more  upon  local  conditions  of  soil 
and  climate  than  upon  the  variety,  and  the  same  variety  from  dif- 
ferent localities  commands  widely  different  prices  in  the  -market. 

SWEET  POTATOES. 

The  sweet  potato  is  grown  in  nearly  all  parts  of  California 
where  rich,  sandy  loam,  suitably  moist,  can  be  found.  Adequate 
heat  is  essential  to  quality  and  the  upper  coast  region  has  localities 
which  are  deficient  in  this  respect,  but  protection  from  coast  in- 
fluences renders  the  product  satisfactory,  even  though  distance  from 
the  ocean  be  not  great.  As  a  rule,  however,  the  crop  in  the  upper 
half  of  the  state  is  grown  in  the  interior  valleys,  while  at  the  south, 
both  the  coast  slopes  and  the  interior  valleys  yield  a  fine  product. 
Where  the  soil  is  rich,  warm,  and  free  and  the  moisture  sufficient, 
the  sweet  potato  attains  immense  size  and  rightly  ranks  among  the 
great  things  of  California. 

The  sweet  potato  is  a  strictly  tender  plant  and  a  heat-lover  as 
well,  consequently  there  is  no  winter  planting,  though  in  drier  parts 
of  the  state,  free  from  frost,  there  may  be  fall  plantings  which  carry 
their  crop  well  into  the  winter  and  for  more  than  half  the  year 
fresh  potatoes  may  be  taken  from  the  ground,  and  by  proper  stor- 
ing the  vegetable  may  be  enjoyed  throughout  the  year. 

Preparation  of  the  Ground. — Planting  is  done  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  frost-free  period  and  the  date  depends  upon  the  locality. 
Usually  it  comes  about  the  first  of  May,  but  preparation  of  the 
ground  should  begin  earlier  to  secure  good  culture  and  moisture 
retention  as  described  for  other  root  crops.  In  regions  of  good 
rainfall  moisture  enough  can  thus  be  retained  to  make  the  crop  or 
at  least  start  it  will.  On  dry  plains  it  may  be  necessary  to  thor- 
oughly irrigate  in  the  spring  before  the  deep  plowing  with  which 
the  planting  is  to  be  made.  On  loose,  lowland  soils  or  in  irrigated 
regions  there  is  often  abundant  moisture  within  reach  of  the  plant 


GROWING   SWEET   POTATOES  249 

to  serve  its  purposes  and  then  sweet  potatoes  may  follow  a  hay  or 
grain  crop  just  as  in  the  practice  with  common  potatoes.  Lands 
which  receive  enough  moisture  from  below  and  yet  are  not  wet 
and  cold,  produce  the  crop  with  least  labor  and  expense,  though 
it  is  quite  feasible  to  proceed  with  direct  irrigation  both  for  plant- 
ing and  after  growth.  The  sweet  potato  sends  its  roots  to  great 
distances  to  find  moisture. 

Growing  the  Plants. — The  sweet  potato  grows  readily  by  cut- 
tings from  the  growing  vine  planted  out  directly  in  the  field  if  the 
ground  is  moist  and  warm.  This  method  is  followed  to  rapidly 
multiply  a  rare  variety.  The  usual  method  is  to  plant  the  crop  by 
using  sprouts  from  potatoes  on  which  growth  is  quickly  started 
with  bottom  heat.  Any  of  the  hot-bed  appliances  described  in  the 
chapter  on  propagation  may  be  used  for  this  purpose  on  a  small 
scale,  but  in  the  warmer  parts  of  the  state  it  can  be  done  on  a  large 
scale  for  field  planting  without  expense  of  glass  or  cloth  covering. 
If,  however,  the  hot-bed  is  used,  care  must  be  taken  against  over- 
heating. 

To  grow  plants  in  the  open  air  it  is  usual  to  begin  in  March 
and  dig  a  trench  four  or  five  feet  wide  and  about  18  inches  deep; 
the  length  according  to  the  number  of  plants  desired.  The  trench 
should  be  dug  in  light,  well-drained  soil,  in  a  place  protected  from 
cold  winds.  Put  in  fresh  horse  manure  and  tramp  down  until 
about  a  foot  of  thickness  is  secured.  Wet  it  well,  but  not  enough 
to  drain,  and  immediately  cover  with  three  or  four  inches  of  sandy 
soil.  Upon  this,  place  the  sweet  potatoes  just  as  close  as  they  can 
be  put  down  without  touching  each  other.  When  done,  sift  in  fine 
sand  between  the  potatoes  and  finally  cover  with  four  or  five  inches 
of  very  sandy  loam,  or  even  with  sand.  Keep  this  bed  moist  but 
not  wet.  Moisture  and  heat  may  be  retained  by  covering  the  bed 
with  two  inches  of  loose  straw  to  be  removed  as  the  shoots  appear. 
The  plants  are  ready  for  use  in  about  eight  weeks  from  the  bed- 
ding of  the  tubers,  when  they  show  a  few  green  leaves;  they  can 
be  detached  by  pulling  and  will  bring  their  outfit  of  small  roots  with 
them  as  they  are  pulled  out  of  the  sand.  The  tubers  will  then  send 
up  other  shoots  which  can  be  planted  later. 

Rather  than  begin  in  March  as  above  stated,  some  begin  as 
early  as  February  10  and  frame  the  bed  with  boards  and  cover 
with  boards  at  night  to  make  it  safe  for  the  earlier  start  of  plants, 
which  is  thus  secured. 

Some  prefer  to  uncover  the  potatoes,  beginning  at  one  end  of 
the  bed,  removing  the  shoots  and  replacing  the  covering.  This 
lessens  the  danger  of  breaking  the  shoots.  Others  split  the  pota- 
toes lengthwise  and  plant  with  the  cut  side  down  so  that  all  the 
shoots  come  from  the  upper  surface  and  are  thus  less  liable  to 
break  in  pulling. 

It  takes  about  eight  weeks  for  the  plants  to  grow  ready  for 
transplanting,  which  is  done  any  time  up  to  June  1  with  reasonable 


250  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

safety  from  fall  frosts.  It  takes  about  12,400  plants  per  acre.  Each 
seed  potato  will  produce  a  first  crop  of  about  eight  plants  and  three- 
fourths  as  many  at  later  pullings.  If  only  the  first  pulling  is  to  be 
used,  it  is  safe  to  allow  90  or  100  square  feet  of  hot-bed  per  acre 
to  be  planted.  This  will  require  about  300  pounds  of  seed  potatoes 
per  acre.  Fewer  seeds  are  required  if  the  second  and  third  crops 
of  plants  are  used,  but  such  plants  will  produce  crops  that  much 
later. 

Planting. — Most  sweet  potatoes  are  grown  on  ridges  about 
fourteen  inches  high  and  three  feet  apart  to  secure  greater  heat 
in  the  soil  and  to  facilitate  irrigation,  but  flat  culture  is  also  prac- 
ticed and  in  some  regions  is  preferred.  After  the  land  is  well 
prepared  and  harrowed  down  smooth,  mark  off  the  rows  three  feet 
apart  and  set  the  plants  eighteen  inches  apart  in  the  row.  When  the 
ground  is  thoroughly  warmed  by  the  advance  of  the  season,  say  in 
April  or  May,  take  the  shoots  as  described  above — trimming  the 
roots  to  a  length  of  four  inches,  though  some,  planting  by  hand, 
use  long  roots.  They  must,  of  course,  be  kept  from  drying  out,  the 
young  roots  being  very  tender.  In  taking  them  to  the  field  they 
must,  therefore,  be  kept  in  a  bucket  of  water,  or  in  a  wet  sack,  the 
former  being  the  best.  Plant  out  the  shoots  eighteen  inches  apart 
in  the  rows,  one  in  a  place,  settling  them  down  in  the  soil,  deep 
enough  to  find  permanent  moisture. 

Sometimes  when  the  object  is  to  get  unusually  large  potatoes, 
instead  of  pulling  off  and  setting  out  the  slips,  the  potato  is  lifted 
out  and  with  every  slip  a  small  piece  of  the  potato  is  cut  out  and 
planted  with  the  slip.  This  method  will  bring  the  earliest  potatoes, 
but  the  number  of  sets  are  many  less  than  though  the  potato  be 
allowed  to  remain  in  bed  for  their  continued  production. 

Recently  a  machine  has  come  into  use  which  digs  a  trench  on 
the  top  of  the  ridge  and  drops  water  at  whatever  intervals  are  de- 
sired. Three  men,  including  the  driver,  transplant  two  acres  per 
day  by  machine.  The  machine  opens  trenches  on  two  ridges  at 
once,  and  closes  them  soon  afterward.  In  the  interim  the  two  men 
sitting  on  the  machine  close  to  the  ground,  insert  plants  in  the 
opened  trenches  about  fourteen  inches  apart,  holding  them  until  the 
machine  draws  dirt  around  them.  A  water  tank  on  the  machine 
automatically  wets  the  plants  when  set,  and  is  refilled  from  the  irri- 
gation ditch  at  the  end  of  each  row. 

Cultivation. — Cultivation  for  the  purpose  of  weed  killing  and 
surface  stirring  is  continued  until  the  vines  interfere  and  after  that 
the  vines  cover  the  ground  with  a  thick  mat  and  discourage  weed 
growth. 

Irrigation. — The  plants  are  irrigated  three  or  four  times  per 
season  and  cultivated  after  each  except  the  last,  when  the  vines  are 
in  the  way.  After  the  vines  begin  to  run,  need  of  irrigation  is  told 
by  their  tips,  which  show  lack  of  water  before  any  other  part  of 
the  plant,  by  drooping.  Water  is  then  necessary  at  once. 


WAYS  TO  KEEP  SWEET  POTATOES  251 

Harvesting  and  Storage. — Use  of  the  sweet  potatoes  may  be- 
gin when  they  attain  suitable  size,  but  for  keeping  they  must  attain 
a  good  degree  of  maturity,  but  should  not  be  subjected  to  frost  for 
it  is  held  that  even  frosting  the  vines  injures  the  tubers,  and  it  is 
advised  to  cut  off  the  vines  just  above  the  ground  if  digging  must 
be  delayed. 

The  first  potatoes  to  be  dug  are  those  which  seem  most  likely 
to  get  too  large  if  allowed  to  mature,  according  to  F.  L.  Landram, 
a  pioneer  sweet  potato  grower  of  Merced  county.  These  earliest 
potatoes  are  dug  in  July,  though  immature,  and  are  generally  sold 
at  three  or  four  cents  per  pound  in  crates  holding  a  little  over  20 
pounds  each.  Later  potatoes  are  sold  in  12x12  crates,  and  those 
dug  after  August  1  are  packed  in  standard  100-pound  crates  12xl6x 
about  24  inches.  They  are  also  marketed  in  100-pound  sacks. 

There  are  three  classes  of  potatoes:  "hog  feed"  includes  very 
slender  potatoes  and  roots ;  "seed"  or  "canning  stock"  includes  those 
under  about  1J4  inches  in  diameter;  salable  potatoes  are  those  over 
1*4  inches  in  diameter,  though  extra  large  sizes  are  sometimes  dis- 
counted. 

Some  find  the  keeping  of  sweet  potatoes  somewhat  difficult. 
Many  pack  the  potatoes  in  dry  sand  and  keep  them  in  the  house. 
This  is  expensive  and  is  not  a  sure  way.  Many  will  rot  and  some- 
times only  one-third  of  them  will  keep  till  spring.  Storage  in  the 
open  air  with  due  protection  against  too  great  temperature  changes 
and  moisture  is  better.  This  method  has  been  approved  in  Fresno 
county : 

Take  stout  stakes,  say  five  to  six  feet  long,  and  drive  them  into  the 
ground  in  a  row  and  five  feet  apart,  in  some  dry  place  that  is  not  sheltered 
by  trees.  Dig  the  potatoes  and  throw  them  up  around  the  stakes  to  the  height 
of  four  feet.  For  a  large  field  a  great  many  such  rows  may  be  necessary ; 
for  a  small  patch  perhaps  one  single  stake  will  suffice.  When  all  dug,  put  four 
inches  of  straw  as  covering.  After  a  week  or  ten  days,  according  to  the 
weather,  the  potatoes  will  have  undergone  a  sweating  process.  They  first 
cover  themselves  with  moisture,  as  if  they  had  been  dipped  in  water.  This 
moisture  gradually  begins  to  disappear,  and  as  soon  as  it  does  so  it  is  time  to 
throw  off  the  straw.  This  should  be  done  when  the  wind  is  blowing;  the 
potato  hills  should  be  left  open  for  three  or  four  hours,  or  until  the  potatoes 
appear  entirely  dry.  If  the  straw  covering  is  taken  off  in  the  morning,  the 
potatoes  will  be  dry  at  noon.  Then  cover  them  again  with  three  or  four  inches 
of  fresh,  dry  straw,  and  on  top  of  the  straw  put  three  or  four  inches  of  soil 
to  keep  out  the  cold.  On  the  top  of  this  must  be  placed  a  roof,  which  is  easily 
made  of  shakes,  nailed  to  strips  of  two  by  three  and  made  in  the  shape  of 
panels,  to  allow  of  easy  handling  and  of  repeated  use  year  after  year.  Potatoes 
kept  in  this  way  will  preserve  perfectly  until  next  spring.  Very  few,  if  any, 
will  be  found  decayed. 

The  Season. — Heavy  shipping  continues  from  August  1  to  Jan- 
uary 1,  though  sweet  potatoes  are  sometimes  kept  in  cellars  until 
April.  If  growers  can  get  $1  per  crate,  however,  they  do  not  store 
many.  In  1915  the  price  went  down  to  50  cents.  In  1916  the  low- 
est was  about  $1.15,  and  they  were  selling  at  $2.50  in  mid-February. 


252  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Particularly  careful  handling  is  required  for  storage  potatoes.  The 
crop  ranges  from  50  to  125  crates  per  acre.  Fifty  crates  are  held 
to  generally  just  about  pay  the  cost  of  production. 

For  Stock  Feeding. — Cull  sweet  potatoes  have  been  utilized  as 
a  hog  feed  for  several  years;  and  experience  has  shown  that  at 
$3.50  a  wagon  load  they  are  an  economical  feed.  L.  D.  Collins,  of 
Denair,  Stanislaus  county,  aims  to  make  them  available  longer  by 
running  them  through  a  root-shredder  and  drying  them  on  fruit  trays. 
In  hot  or  windy  weather  they  dry  quickly  and  can  then  be  stored 
in  sacks.  The  fruit  trays  were  not  altogether  satisfactory  as  they 
retain  moisture;  and  that  tends  to  rot  the  potatoes  unless  the  trays 
are  turned.  To  overcome  this  Mr.  Collins  uses  wire  screen  on  a 
frame,  allowing  the  air  free  circulation  all  around.  The  loss  in 
weight  in  drying  is  about  60  per  cent,  depending  somewhat  on  the 
length  of  time  the  potato  has  been  dug.  In  Mr.  Collins'  experience 
in  feeding  fresh  potatoes  he  has  found  that  his  hogs  will  consume 
three  times  as  much  weight  of  fresh  sweets  as  they  will  barley, 
and  do  better  on  them. 

Varieties. — Probably  all  the  improved  varieties  have  been  in- 
troduced in  California.  The  California  demand  is  for  a  variety 
which  is  rather  dry  and  mealy  when  cooked,  although  the  softer, 
sweeter  sorts  have  some  advocates.  The  most  common  variety  is 
called  the  Calif ornian  but  it  is  a  Chinese  sort  introduced  in  early 
days.  The  Southern  Queen  and  the  Nansemoncls  are  also  popular, 
and  the  Jersey  Red  is  grown  to  some  extent  in  southern  California. 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 
RADISHES. 

THE  RADISH. — Raphanus  sativus. 

French,    radis;    German,    radies ;    Dutch,    radijs;    Danish,    haverdoedike ; 
Italian,  ravanello;  Spanish,  rabanito;  Portuguese,  rabao. 

HORSE-RADISH. — Cochlearia  Armor  acia. 

French,  raifort  sauvage ;  German,  meerettig ;  Dutch,  peperwortel ;  Danish, 
peberrod;  Italian,  rafano;  Spanish,  taramago;  Portuguese,  rabao  de  cavalho. 

The  radish  is  a  relish  which  can  be  had  continuously  through- 
out the  year  in  most  parts  of  California,  if  proper  soil  and  moisture 
conditions  can  be  arranged.  It  is  almost  a  hopeless  task  to  under- 
take to  secure  a  crisp,  delicately  flavored  radish  unless  heat  and 
moisture  are  favorable  to  quick  growth  of  the  plant.  It  takes  some 
gardening  skill,  therefore,  to  produce  good  radishes  in  winter  locali- 
ties with  sharp  frosts  and  heavy  rainfall,  while  in  regions  of  light 
frost  and  light  rainfall,  winter  heat  is  usually  adequate  to  satis- 
factory growth. 

The  best  soil  for  radishes  is  a  rich,  sandy  loam,  though  any 
good  garden  soil  will  grow  them  if  a  small  piece  is  improved  for 
the  purpose  as  described  in  Chapter  IV. 

Preparation  of  the  soil  is  essentially  the  same  as  that  already 
described  for  other  root-crops,  and  sowing,  as  already  intimated, 
can  be  done  whenever  the  soil  is  in  good  condition,  if  irrigation  is 
available  for  use  in  the  dry  season,  and  there  is  free  drainage  in 
the  winter.  Temperature  is,  however,  of  more  moment  to  the  radish 
than  to  some  other  hardy  garden  plants,  and  during  the  colder 
months,  the  raised  bed,  as  described  in  Chapter  VII,  located  on  the 
sunny  side  of  a  wind-break,  will  afford  heat  enough  usually.  In 
other  places  where  cold  and  rain  are  greater  the  "warm  heap"  de- 
scribed in  Chapter  XI,  may  be  used.  By  thus  adapting  the  method 
to  local  conditions  winter  growth  can  be  had  anywhere  in  the  valley 
and  foothill  regions  of  the  state.  Summer  growth  is  mainly  a  ques- 
tion of  soil-moisture  which  can  be  regulated  by  irrigation  and  cul- 
tivation. 

As  the  radish  is  naturally  of  quick  growth  and  as  crispness 
and  mild  flavor  are  largely  conditioned  on  pushing  it  to  the  utmost 
of  its  speed,  it  can  be  grown  to  advantage  as  a  catch  crop  here  and 
there  in  the  garden  on  ground  that  is  temporarily  out  of  use  for  a 
few  weeks,  or  between  the  rows  of  more  slowly  growing  vegetables. 
The  gardener  should  always  be  ready  to  scatter  good  radish  seed 
when  he  has  a  little  stretch  of  light,  rich,  moist  soil  at  command. 
A  little  attention  and  ingenuity  will  in  this  way  secure  a  constant 
supply.  |j  4 

[253] 


254  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Cooking  Radishes. — Mr.  Samuel  Haigh,  of  San  Jose,  reports 
an  experiment  with  cooking  Long  Scarlet  radishes  which  he  grew 
as  large  as  carrots,  being  \y2  inches  in  diameter  and  six  to  eight 
inches  long;  solid  and  crisp,  but  just  beginning  to  get  keen.  Peeling 
removes  this,  however,  making  the  cooked  vegetable  very  palatable 
and  of  an  excellent  flavor,  superior  to  the  common  white  turnip, 
which  takes  much  longer  to  grow. 

Varieties. — Popular  favor  runs  in  the  direction  of  the  turnip- 
shaped  varieties,  of  which  there  are  very  many.  The  long  radishes, 
like  the  Long  Scarlet,  are,  however,  often  chosen  for  home  use. 
The  Icicle  is  a  beautiful  long,  white  variety.  The  Early  Scarlet 
Turnip  is  most  largely  grown  and  there  are  several  strains  of  it 
varying  in  earliness  and  color.  The  French  Breakfast,  oval,  tipped 
with  white,  stands  next  to  the  Scarlet  Turnip  sorts.  The  Italian 
market  gardeners  grow  what  is  known  as  the  "Half-Long,"  a  va- 
riety of  Rose  Olive-Shaped  and  the  Black  Spanish,  very  desirable 
for  winter  growth.  Epicure  is  small  and  very  quick  and  beautifully 
colored  red  to  white.  The  White  Turnip,  similar  to  Scarlet  Turnip 
except  in  color,  is  popular  with  German  gardeners,  and  the  Chartier 
has  some  popularity  as  a  large  scarlet  variety,  shading  to  pink  and 
thence  to  white  at  the  root-tip.  The  Crimson  Giant  is  very  large 
and  generally  solid  and  crisp.  The  California  Mammoth  White,  in- 
troduced by  the  Chinese,  distances  all  others  for  size.  It  is  pure 
white,  mild-flavored  and  crisp,  even  though  it  may  grow  eighteen 
inches  in  length  and  three  inches  in  diameter  in  six  weeks,  with 
interior  heat  on  light  soil,  abundantly  moist.  The  Long  White 
Japanese  or  Japanese  Summer,  is  also  in  the  race  for  size,  but  is 
slower  in  reaching  it. 

HORSE-RADISH. 

Horse-radish  is  a  popular  relish  in  California  towns  and  is 
bottled  on  quite  a  large  scale.  The  plant  is  easily  grown  and  should 
be  found  in  every  farm  garden.  A  start  is  most  conveniently  made 
by  planting  root  sets.  Mr.  Ira  W.  Adams  advises  planting  the  roots 
or  sets  in  rows  two  feet  apart  with  the  sets  one  foot  apart  in  the 
rows,  and  three  or  four  inches  under  the  surface.  On  rich,  moist 
soil,  with  the  best  of  cultivation,  one  can  raise  roots  that  will  weigh 
from  one-half  to  three-quarters  of  a  pound.  When  the  roots  are 
dug  in  the  winter  for  use,  break  off  all  the  small  rootlets  from  one- 
quarter  to  one-half  inch  in  diameter,  cut  into  pieces  from  three  to 
five  inches  long,  leaving  the  top  end  square,  and  the  bottom  end 
slanting,  so  there  will  be  no  mistake  in  planting  them  upside  down. 
Tie  in  small  bunches  and  put  into  moist  sand  that  has  perfect  drain- 
age and  is  exposed  to  the  weather.  In  very  cold,  long,  heavy  rains 
it  is  well  to  cover  with  shakes,  or  short  pieces  of  boards.  A  cool 
cellar  is  a  good  place  to  store  them,  but  be  careful  the  sand  is  never 
allowed  to  get  dry,  as  the  sets  will  not  root  nicely  without  continual 
moisture.  Then  during  the  winter,  as  the  ground  becomes  warm 


HORSE-RADISH  GROWING  255 

or  early  in  the  spring  there  will  be  nicely  rooted  sets  ready  for 
transplanting  as  before  described. 

Mr.  D.  F.  Reichard,  of  Los  Angeles  county,  gives,  to  the  Cali- 
fornia Cultivator,  this  advice: 

In  planting  horse-radish  it  is  advisable  to  dig  a  trench  or  hole  and  have 
the  plants  six  to  ten  inches  below  the  surface,  then  as  they  grow  carefully  fill 
up  to  the  level.  If  the  soil  is  light  this  will  not  be  necessary,  as  horse-radish 
will  usually  come  through  eight  to  ten  inches  of  soil.  This  method  of  culture 
produces  a  long,  perfect  root.  It  must  be  remembered  in  planting  that  the 
old  set  entirely  wastes  away  and  the  new  plant  starts  from  this  set  and  grows 
upward,  making  another  large  root  below  the  level  of  the  point  from  which 
it  starts. 

Another  point  of  view  is  presented  in  this  account  given  by 
Aggeler  &  Musser,  of  Los  Angeles: 

The  local  supply  is  far  below  the  demand.  This  condition  should  not 
exist,  because  it  is  a  profitable  crop.  One  grower  realized  $1100  from  two 
acres.  When  asked  why  he  discontinued  growing  it,  he  replied :  "I  have  not 
the  right  soil.  It  requires  a  rich,  sandy  loam,  frequent  irrigation,  but  it  must 
be  well  drained  so  that  the  soil  does  not  remain  muddy  or  sour.  Then,  too, 
there  is  so  much  disease  or  blight  prevalent  that  one  must  get  a  clean  start 
and  keep  clean  by  changing  places  as  soon  as  the  soil  is  infected." 

Though  it  is  quite  true  that  one  should  be  somewhat  critical 
about  entering  upon  large  commercial  production  and  should  not 
only  examine  his  soil  and  moisture  conditions  as  above  suggested 
but  also  should  guarantee  his  product  by  contracting  at  least  part 
of  it  to  a  pickle  maker  or  other  large  consumer,  no  such  question 
should  disturb  the  small  grower  for  he  can  get  good  results  on  any 
garden  soil  with  very  little  trouble. 

Formerly  all  horse-radish  was  of  one  kind,  but  the  one  now 
in  favor  in  this  state  is  known  as  the  Bohemian — a  recent  intro- 
duction by  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture.  It  is  a  much 
more  rapid  grower  than  the  old  variety  in  general  use  and  is,  there- 
fore ready  for  use  a  great  deal  earlier.  Its  large,  white  roots  may 
be  raised  in  almost  any  soil.  The  quality  of  this  horse-radish  is 
said  to  be  far  superior  to  the  old  variety. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 
RHUBARB. 

RHUBARB  OR  PIE  PLANT. — Rheum  sp. 

French,  rhubarbe;  German  and  Danish,  rhabarber;  Dutch,  rabarber; 
Italian,  rabarbaro;  Spanish  and  Portuguese,  ruibarbo. 

Rhubarb  attains  grand  size  and  quality  in  California  if  due 
attention  is  paid  to  the  requirements  of  the  plant,  and  it  should 
have  a  place  in  every  house  garden.  It  enjoys  very  rich  soil  and 
will  thrive  on  a  great  variety  of  soils,  even  from  heavy  clay  to 
light  peat,  providing  ample  moisture  is  afforded  it.  On  heavy, 
retentive  soils  it  must  have  good  cultivation  or  thick  mulching  to 
prevent  loss  of  moisture  and  surface  baking;  on  light,  coarse  soils 
either  ample  irrigation  or  natural  sub-irrigation  will  keep  the  plant 
thrifty  and  vigorous.  It  does  not  enjoy  high  heat  and  drought,  and 
reaches  its  best  estate  and  is  commercially  produced  in  the  coast 
valleys  or  on  river  bottom  lands  of  the  interior,  but  it  can  be 
very  satisfactorily  grown  for  home  use  on  interior  plains  and  mesas 
providing  constant  moisture  is  supplied ;  partial  shade  is  also  grate- 
ful to  its  foliage  in  the  interior,  but  is  not  necessary  on  the  coast. 
Since  the  wide  introduction  of  winter-growing  rhubarb,  which 
defies  the  frost  and  enjoys  the  ample  moisture  of  the  rainy  season, 
the  range  of  the  plant  has  vastly  increased  in  California  and  its 
commercial  importance  has  greatly  advanced. 

Culture. — Rhubarb  is  grown  from  seed  or  propagated  by  di- 
vision of  the  roots :  the  latter  insures  reproduction  of  the  identical 
characters  of  the  parent,  while  from  seed  there  is  always  a  chance 
of  variation. 

Rhubarb  plants  may  be  grown  from  seed  by  preparing  the 
ground  in  the  same  way  already  described  for  asparagus,  and  the 
same  care  of  the  seedling  as  there  indicated  will  bring  good,  strong 
rhubarb  roots  for  planting  out  as  yearlings.  Mr.  Ira  W.  Adams 
gives  the  following  special  advice  for  rhubarb  seedlings : 

Prepare  the  bed  the  same  as  for  asparagus.  Sow  the  seed  in  rows  one 
foot  apart,  and  one  inch  apart  in  the  row  in  a  little  furrow  one  inch  deep; 
tramp  down  lightly  with  the  back  of  a  steel  rake  and  cover  with  the  finest 
of  soil,  as  the  seeds  are  small  and  light.  When  the  plants  are  an  inch  or  two 
high,  they  can  be  transplanted  into  rows  twelve  inches  apart,  and  four  inches 
between  the  plants.  By  fall  they  will  be  fine,  strong  plants,  and  can  be  planted 
out  the  next  spring  in  permanent  rows. 

Root  sets  are  made  by  dividing  the  roots  of  the  older  plants  so 
that  each  piece  shall  have  a  bud  or  eye.  The  most  vigorous  plants, 
producing  the  largest  leaves  and  thickest  leaf-stems,  should  be  se- 
lected for  this  purpose. 

[256] 


WAYS   WITH  RHUBARB  257 

Planting. — Before  planting  either  in  field  or  garden  the  soil 
should  be  heavily  manured  and  deeply  turned  in  the  fall  so  as  to 
get  the  full  benefit  of  the  winter  rains.  Transplanting  the  old  sum- 
mer varieties  should  be  done  when  the  plant  is  dormant,  the  soil  in 
good  working  condition  and  warmth  enough  for  growth  antici- 
pated. The  date  will,  of  course,  vary  in  different  localities,  but 
February  will  usually  be  satisfactory  for  the  summer  growers. 

It  is  best  to  reset  the  eyes  taken  off,  as  soon  as  a  rain  has 
moistened  the  ground  late  in  the  fall,  according  to  J.  B.  Mendonca, 
a  large  rhubarb  grower  of  Alameda  county.  This  gives  them  the 
benefit  of  all  the  rest  of  the  rains  and  makes  them  ready  for  early 
growth  in  spring. 

F.  H.  Williams,  also  of  Alameda  county,  in  getting  sets  for 
replanting,  does  not  dig  the  roots  out,  but  plows  the  dirt  away 
from  each  side  of  the  plant  and  cuts  off  the  excess  eyes  with  a 
sharp  spade.  After  this  the  dirt  is  plowed  back,  so  the  old  roots, 
undisturbed,  may  send  out  new  feeders  into  the  soft  ground  with- 
out the  shock  of  resetting. 

The  soil  must  not  be  too  wet  at  transplanting  or  the  roots  may 
rot ;  good  warmth  and  moisture  are  favorable.  The  introduction  of 
winter-growing  varieties  has  modified  transplanting  practice.  They 
are  practically  evergreen  and  active  except  for  a  short  dormancy 
in  the  late  summer,  and,  though  capable  of  transplanting  by  cut- 
ting back  the  leaves  all  through  the  rainy  season,  are  usually  moved 
to  best  advantage  from  April  to  June,  the  latter  period  being  avail- 
able on  irrigated  land.  A  June  planting  of  the  winter  varieties  may 
yield  a  good  pulling  of  leaves  by  Thanksgiving. 

There  are  different  ways  of  planting  out,  each  with  its  own 
advocates.  Roots  set  four  feet  apart  each  way  give  good  oppor- 
tunity for  cultivation  both  ways ;  but  some  give  more  room  by  lay- 
ing off  in  six  feet  rows  with  the  plants  four  feet  apart  in  the  row. 
Others  plant  in  the  garden,  placing  the  plants  two  feet  apart,  if 
only  one  row  is  planted,  and  in  four  feet  rows  with  the  plants  three 
feet  apart  if  there  are  to  be  several  rows.  On  good,  strong  deep 
soils,  it  is  well  to  give  plenty  of  room,  for  large  growth  of  leaves 
is  desired  to  impart  vigor  to  the  roots.  Distance  depends  somewhat 
upon  the  variety,  but  nearly  all  growers  aim  at  very  large  leaf 
stems,  and  these  require  ample  space. 

J.  B.  Wagoner,  however,  in  growing  winter  varieties,  advocates 
close  planting.  He  says: 

If  you  want  a  rhubarb  crop,  you  must  feed  the  plants — with  nitrogen.  If 
you  feed  them  well,  you  may  let  the  roots  enlarge  as  much  as  they  will,  the 
new  eyes  will  produce  the  stalks.  Let  the  root  get  big — the  bigger  the  better. 
Set  your  plants  close  together — ll/2  feet  apart  in  rows  4j4  feet  apart,  6000 
per  acre — and  give  them  plant  food.  When  they  are  crowded  close  together, 
they  occupy  less  land,  they  send  up  straight  stalks  that  pack  well,  the  leaves 
shade  the  stalks  from  sunburn,  they  shade  the  ground  reducing  evaporation, 
and,  hence,  irrigation,  the  soil  does  not  bake  and  reflect  the  summer  heat  up 
to  the  stalks.  The  thickness  of  the  leaves  shades  the  stalks  so  they  color  well 
up  to  the  end.  When  frost  comes,  the  leaves  protect  the  stalk  again. 


258  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Treatment. — The  plants  should  be  allowed  to  retain  all  their 
leaves  the  first  year  after  planting  out,  and  there  must  be  abundant 
moisture  for  summer  growth  if  there  is  to  be  a  heavy  crop  the 
second  year.  Frequent  summer  cultivation  is  desirable  unless 
mulching  is  employed,  and  if  it  is  the  grower  must  be  sure  that 
his  mulching  is  heavy  enough  to  retain  moisture.  It  is  probably 
better  to  trust  to  cultivation  and  irrigation  in  most  situations.  With 
the  fall  rains  the  surface  should  be  liberally  dressed  with  manure 
and  covered  in  as  deeply  as  possible  without  injury  to  the  roots. 
Shallow  cultivation  should  follow  before  the  weeds  advance  too 
far,  to  be  repeated  as  necessary  to  keep  the  field  clean. 

Winter  growing  varieties,  planted  out  in  the  spring  and  sum- 
mer, irrigated,  establish  themselves  so  strongly  the  first  summer 
that  some  pulling  can  be  done  upon  them  the  following  winter. 
Even  without  irrigation,  spring  set  plants  will  receive  a  new  im- 
pulse with  the  first  rain,  grow  riotously  with  the  autumn  heat  and 
give  large  leaf  stems  by  the  holidays  in  the  warmer  parts  of  the  state. 

Manuring  and  cultivation  should  be  followed  year  after  year 
to  keep  the  soil  rich  and  in  good  tilth.  Some  soils  are,  however, 
so  rich  naturally  that  such  liberal  manuring  may  not  be  necessary 
at  first.  The  plant  should  not  be  too  fully  stripped  of  its  leaves 
nor  should  the  pulling  be  continued  too  late  with  the  summer  va- 
rieties. The  following  crop  depends  upon  adequate  leaf  action — 
consequently  the  plant  must  have  foliage  and  summer  moisture  to 
maintain  it. 

Soil  Shading  and  Enriching. — Mr.  A.  W.  Lee,  of  Covina,  holds 
that  in  interior  places  rhubarb  is  greatly  helped  by  soil  shading. 
He  grows  blackeye  beans  or  cow  peas  between  the  rhubarb  rows 
in  the  summer.  It  is  not  to  protect  the  plants  from  the  sun,  but 
for  its  fertilizing  value,  especially  the  humus  that  it  will  produce; 
but,  while  it  probably  does  not  shade  the  plants,  it  shades  the  ground 
and  keeps  it  moist  if  kept  irrigated  and  cool,  and  this  is  a  very  ma- 
terial help  in  keeping  the  sun  from  injuring  the  plants. 

"If  you  are  in  a  hurry  for  rhubarb  results,"  says  Mr.  Lee, 
"and  if  your  patch  is  badly  run  down  or  the  fertility  gone,  200  or 
300  pounds  nitrate  of  soda  per  acre,  used  with  manure,  revives  it. 
In  applying  commercial  fertilizers,  I  furrow  away  both  sides  of 
the  row,  drop  the  fertilizer  in,  and  cultivate  to  fill  the  furrows. 
Then  a  good  irrigation  is  necessary  to  start  the  fertilizer  to  work. 
I  use  dried  blood  in  the  same  way.  I  spread  manure  on  top  of  the 
ground  and  cultivate  or  plow  it  in,  rather  than  scraping  it  into  the 
bottom  of  the  furrow.  Fresh  cattle  manure  is  best.  Rhubarb  uses 
lots  of  nitrogen. 

Slight  Forcing  of  Summer  Rhubarb. — Mr.  R.  E.  Hodges  notes 
interesting  garden  experience  as  follows : 

In  our  garden  in  San  Mateo  County,  the  rhubarb  started  to  go  to  seed 
early  this  spring.  We  cut  off  the  seed  stalks  before  the  sheaths  bursted  and 
stopped  that  tendency.  But  the  leaves  and  stalks  would  not  grow  much.  We 


VARIETIES  OF  RHUBARB  259 

put  bottomless  boxes  over  three  of  the  seven  plants,  after  pulling  all  leaves 
but  the  very  smallest.  Two  weeks  later  the  rhubarb  was  pulled  to  eat.  That 
in  the  boxes  averaged  considerably  over  twice  as  large  as  the  best  of  that 
outside.  The  boxes  were  just  large  enough  to  fit  over  the  plants,  forcing  the 
smallest  leaves  to  point  upward. 

For  early  forcing  for  home  use,  take  a  deep  box,  make  up  a 
mixture  of  stable  manure  and  garden  soil,  plant  strong  roots  in 
this  and  water  well.  Place  this  in  a  dark  shed  or  in  the  cellar  and 
water  every  three  weeks  or  so,  and  get  forced  rhubarb. 

Varieties. — The  Monarch  is  largely  grown.  It  has  a  very  wide, 
flat  stem.  The  Victoria  has  red,  long  stems,  rather  sharp  acid,  but 
a  very  productive  sort  and  popular.  Linnaeus  is  early,  large,  thick 
stems,  of  excellent  flavor  and  less  acid.  Strawberry  is  largely 
grown  in  the  great  summer  rhubarb  district  around  San  Lorenzo, 
Alameda  county. 

The  Crimson  Winter,  introduced  from  Australia  by  Luther 
Burbank  about  1895,  and  sold  by  him  to  the  trade  in  1900,  has 
revolutionized  rhubarb  growing  in  California  by  completely  re- 
versing the  market  season.  This  variety  and  its  improvements  by 
Mr.  Burbank  and  by  others  who  have  practiced  selection,  notably 
by  J.  B.  Wagner,  of  Pasadena,  who  originated  Wagner's  Giant  and 
has  multiplied  the  rhubarb  acreage  of  the  state  and  vastly  increased 
the  serviceability  and  commercial  suitability  of  the  plant.  It  has 
precluded  forcing  in  California  and  promises  to  render  forcing  un- 
profitable even  in  the  wintry  parts  of  the  country  because  of  the 
large  supplies  of  open  air  rhubarb  which  are  available  for  ship- 
ment from  this  state  at  all  times  of  the  year  when  the  summer  va- 
rieties grown  in  wintry  climates  are  unproductive. 

The  winter  varieties  are  not  reported  satisfactory  on  the  flat 
rich  lands  of  Alameda  county,  where  the  chief  crops  of  summer 
varieties  are  produced.  For  most  profit  they  are  grown  on  deep, 
light  soils  where  frosts  are  very  light.  From  such  places  they  reach 
an  early  winter  market  and  do  not  compete  with  summer  varieties. 


CHAPTER    XXXI. 
SPINACH. 

COMMON  SPINACH. — Spinacia  oleracea  and  spinosa. 
French,  epinard ;  German,  spinat ;  Dutch,  spinazie ;  Danish,  spinat ;  Italian, 
spinaccio;  Spanish,  espinaca;  Portuguese,  espinafre. 

NEW  ZEALAND  SPINACH. — Tetragonia  expansa. 

Spinach  is  an  all-the-year  plant  in  California,  and  the  house- 
gardener  need  never  fail  to  have  tender  foliage  for  boiling  if  he 
arranges  for  successive  sowings  and  knows  the  varieties  and  species 
which  befit  the  changing  seasons,  for  he  can  choose  for  fall  sowing 
that  which  is  perfectly  hardy  and  thrifty  in  the  California  winter, 
and  for  spring  sowing  that  which  will  furnish  succulent  pluckings 
even  through  the  heat  and  drought  of  the  interior  summer.  But 
though  this  is  so,  it  is  chiefly  as  affording  winter  greens  that  spinach 
is  grown  for  the  market.  The  summer  furnishes  so  large  a  variety 
of  table  vegetables  that  it  is  chiefly  in  winter  that  the  housewife 
turns  her  attention  to  pot-herbs. 

Culture. — As  we  are  dealing  with  two  entirely  distinct  genera 
of  plants  under  the  name  "spinach,"  and  as  they  have  very  little  in 
common  except  their  similar  culinary  use,  it  will  be  necessary  to 
write  in  specific  terms  of  their  culture. 

The  varieties  of  common  spinach  (spinacia)  dislike  heat  and 
drought  and  enjoy  moist,  rich  soil  and  moderate  temperature. 
These  conditions  are  afforded  by  all  California  gardens  in  the  win- 
ter, providing  the  grower  will  heed  the  suggestions  for  ridge- 
culture,  etc.,  given  in  previous  chapters,  for  escaping  surplus  water 
and  securing  suitable  growing-temperature  in  the  winter  garden. 
With  these  provisions  it  is  easy  to  secure  winter  spinach  by  fol- 
lowing the  suggestions  given  for  the  winter  growth  of  lettuce,  peas 
or  other  hardy  vegetables.  What  has  been  said  of  fall  sowing  of 
these,  applies  also  to  spinach.  The  plant  makes  best  growth  from 
seed  sown  in  place,  and  if  the  seed  is  good  it  may  be  thinly  sown, 
for  the  plants  should  not  be  allowed  to  crowd  each  other.  They 
should  have  from  six  to  nine  inches  space  in  the  row  and  should  be 
kept  free  from  encroachment  of  weeds.  To  keep  the  soil  from 
packing  by  rains,  and  to  push  the  plants  as  well,  a  top  dressing  of 
fine  manure  may  be  placed  to  be  leached  out  by  the  rains.  In  a 
garden  with  permanent  walks,  spinach  may  be  sown  as  a  border 
plant,  which  brings  it  within  easy  reach  for  the  frequent  plucking 
of  leaves.  The  plants  will  endure  this,  and  by  means  of  new  growth 
on  old  plants  and  successive  sowings,  it  is  feasible,  as  above  stated, 
to  have  spinach  always  ready.  The  variety  chiefly  used  is  the 
"Large  Prickly,"  although  the  "Long  Standing"  is  also  esteemed 
[260] 


SUMMER  AND  WINTER  SPINACH  261 

because  of  its  long  leaf  growth  before  sending  up  seed  stems.  The 
Round  of  Summer  is  also  considerably  used. 

For  greens  in  the  hot  and  dry  summer  and  dry  autumn,  the 
New  Zealand  spinach  is  making  a  fine  record  in  California.  It  was 
introduced  and  widely  distributed  by  the  State  University,  and  has 
been  handled  for  years  by  the  California  seedsmen  on  the  basis  of 
its  local  suitability.  Even  in  interior  situations  it  grows  on  dry 
ground  all  summer,  and  maintains  rich  green  color  until  frost  kills 
the  top  growth.  The  stems  and  foliage  are  very  sensitive  to  frost, 
but  the  root  is  more  hardy  and  gives  new  growth  and  is  useful  in 
the  spring.  The  plant  sends  out  shoots  of  considerable  length  which 
may  be  cut  off  for  cooking.  Its  tenderness  and  flavor  are  vouched 
for  by  many  growers.  Early  summer  cutting  may  be  had  by  start- 
ing plants  with  bottom  heat  and  planting  out  like  eggplants,  but  in 
our  long  summer,  sowing  in  the  spring  after  frost  danger  is  over, 
gives  abundant  foliage  in  late  summer  and  autumn. 

Spinach  has  recently  added  greatly  to  its  commercial  import- 
ance in  California  by  the  operation  of  the  canners.  Large  fields 
are  grown  especially  to  fill  contracts  with  the  canneries.  It  is  the 
winter  growing  varieties  which  serve  this  demand.  They  are  grown 
by  rainfall  from  fall  planting. 


CHAPTER     XXXII. 


SQUASHES. 

MAMMOTH  SQUASHES  OR  PUMPKINS. — Cucurbita  maxima. 
French,  potirons;    German,  melonen-kurbiss ;   Danish,   centner-groeskar ; 
Italian,  zucca ;  Spanish,  calabaza  totanera. 

MARROWS  AND  SCALLOPS. — Cucurbita  pepo. 
The  species  moschata  also  contributes  same  horticultural  varieties. 

The  California-grown  squashes  are  all  noted  for  prodigious 
size  and  the  acre-product  is  also  immense.  Squashes  have  been 
used  from  the  early  days  as  exponents  of  size  in  California  vege- 
tables, at  all  distant  and  local  exhibitions,  and  the  statistics  thereof 
would  fill  a  volume.  Weights  of  single  specimens  have  been  at- 
tained in  excess  of  three  hundred  pounds,  and  field  crops  above 
thirty  tons  to  the  acre.  To  avoid  exaggeration  and  at  the  same 
time  present  the  truth  about  the  California  squash  in  a  picturesque 
manner,  a  single  record  is  presented  from  the  writer's  collection  of 
cucurbitous  literature.  Frank  E.  Kellogg,  of  Goleta,  Santa  Bar- 
bara county,  personally  known  to  the  writer  as  a  man  of  truth 
and  probity,  furnishes  this  statement : 

I  planted  my  squashes  in  May,  and  harvested  them  in  October.  Finding 
that  they  were  unusually  large,  I  weighed  ten  of  the  largest  and  found  that 
their  aggregate  weight  was  one  ton  and  fifty  odd  pounds,  the  largest  one 
weighing  225  pounds.  This  squash  was  exhibited  at  the  county  fair  and  re- 
ceived the  first  prize.  On  the  15th  of  November,  which  was  my  boy's  sixteenth 
birthday,  I  cut  open  one  of  the  other  squashes,  that  weighed  210  pounds,  and 
took  out  the  seeds;  my  boy  then  got  into  it  and  I  put  the  piece  together  and 
completely  closed  him  in,  the  parts  coming  tight  together.  I  then  persuaded 
my  eighteen-year-old  daughter  to  get  into  it  and  I  closed  her  in,  in  the  same 
manner.  My  daughter's  weight  was  110  pounds.  I  then  put  two  seven-year- 
old  boys  in  at  once.  I  then  put  my  three  little  girls  in  at  once ;  they  were  aged 
respectively  six,  four  and  two  years,  their  united  weight  being  116  pounds. 
I  placed  the  largest  child  in  the  bottom  and  the  little  one  on;  the  top  and  then 
put  on  the  lid ;  the  squash  was  cut  so  that  the  top  could  be  easily  put  on  or 
removed.  The  squash  was  three  feet  four  or  five  inches  in  length. 

The  growth  and  productiveness  of  the  plant  in  specially  favor- 
able places  are  proportional  to  the  size  of  the  fruit ;  vine  growth  of 
fifty  feet  and  from  thirty  to  forty-two  good  sized  fruits  to  the  single 
vine  are  recorded — a  good  wagon  load  to  the  vine. 

Localities  and  Soils. — The  greatest  specimens  and  the  heaviest 
crops  are  produced  on  rich,  retentive  loams.  These  are  rather 
heavy  soils  and  are  usually  the  lowlands  of  either  coast  or  interior 
valleys.  But  great  squashes  are  not  confined  to  such  soils.  Lighter 
soils,  if  abundantly  rich  and  adequately  moist,  are  also  very  satis- 
factory, and  in  fact  any  good  soil  deeply  plowed  and  properly  culti- 
[262] 


GROWING  SQUASHES  263 

vated,  until  the  vines  cover  the  ground,  may  be  expected  to  give 
good  returns.  For  this  reason  the  dairy  farmer  who  has  suitable 
land,  grows  squash  in  large  quantity  for  fall  and  early  winter  feed- 
ing; the  mixed  farmer  enters  squash  as  a  stated  item  in  his  list  of 
crops,  and  the  fruit  farmer  is  quite  apt  to  grow  squash  between 
the  trees  in  his  young  orchard,  to  contribute  to  his  family  milk 
supply. 

The  squash  may  often  help  to  use  waste  land.  J.  W.  Scott, 
of  Stanislaus  county,  keeps  his  ditch  banks  cultivated  all  spring  that 
he  could  grow  squash  on  them  for  hog  feed  in  the  fall.  In  ordi- 
nary years  a  big  lot  of  land  is  wasted  in  ditch  banks,  but  by  keep- 
ing them  cultivated  there  is  room  for  two  rows  of  squash  on  Mr. 
Scott's  ditches,  and  as  the  land  in  them  sub-irrigates  all  during  the 
summer  they  will  require  very  little  care  after  planting.  Mr.  Scott 
uses  a  crooked  neck  variety  because  of  less  damage  from  worms. 

The  squash  is  somewhat  exacting  in  its  moisture  supply,  and 
does  not  respond  well  on  light,  dry  soils  unless  irrigated.  With 
enough  moisture  the  plant  endures  the  highest  interior  heat  and 
records  large  production.  Excessive  irrigation  is,  however,  to  be 
avoided,  for  it  is  apt  to  diminish  the  fruiting. 

Culture. — The  squash  plant  is  very  tender;  it  is  destroyed  by 
frost  and  the  seed  is  apt  to  fail  in  cold  ground.  The  proper  prac- 
tice is  to  have  the  soil  previously  well  cultivated,  but  to  delay  plant- 
ing seed  or  transplanting  seedlings  from  the  covered  bed  until  the 
time  is  frost-free  and  the  soil  warm.  The  culture  of  the  squash  is, 
therefore,  like  that  already  prescribed  for  the  cucumber  and  for 
melons,  in  Chapters  XXI  and  XXIV,  to  which  the  reader  is  re- 
ferred. The  bush  varieties  of  squashes  follow  the  cucumber  in 
distances,  and  the  running  varieties  follow  the  watermelon  dis- 
tances. There  is,  however,  some  difference  in  the  practice  of  grow- 
ers of  the  running  varieties;  some  advocate  rather  close  planting, 
as  six  by  six  or  eight  by  eight  feet  in  squares,  and  others  plant  at 
wider  distances,  even  to  setting  two  plants  in  a  place  at  intervals  of 
fourteen  feet  apart.  It  is  impossible  to  state  any  specific  distance 
at  best ;  it  is  to  be  determined  locally  according  to  the  growth  which 
the  local  soil  and  climate  produce.  One  is  apt  to  err  on  the  side 
of  crowding  than  otherwise. 

Care  must  be  had  not  to  cover  the  seed  too  deeply.  It  must 
be  firmly  placed  in  moist  soil  and  covered  enough  to  avoid  quick 
drying.  The  suggestions  in  Chapter  XI  on  propagation  are  as  defi- 
nite as  they  can  be  made,  according  to  the  character  of  the  soils 
employed. 

Cultivation  must  be  begun  as  soon  as  possible  after  planting, 
to  save  moisture  from  loss  either  by  weeds  or  evaporation,  and 
must  be  frequent  for  the  same  reason.  Nothing  looks  more  dis- 
tressful than  squash  vines  perishing  on  baked  clay  or  dry  sandy 
soil  which,  if  properly  cultivated  from  the  start,  would  have  sus- 
tained a  splendid  growth. 


264  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Garden  Culture. — In  addition  to  injunctions  for  thorough 
working  of  the  soil  and  adequate  irrigation,  there  is  the  opportu- 
nity in  garden  culture  to  produce  grand  results  by  special  fertiliza- 
tion. Careful  use  of  the  compost  or  liquid  manure  described  in 
Chapter  VIII,  produces  marvelous  results. 

Varieties. — We  have  in  California  probably  all  the  kinds  of 
squash  known  to  horticulture.  Some  amateurs  take  special  interest 
in  such  collections,  and  scores  of  varieties  representing  the  whole 
gourd  family  have  been  shown  in  state  fair  exhibits.  And  yet  the 
bulk  of  the  product  is  made  of  very  few  varieties. 

Of  the  bush  forms  which  are  relied  upon  for  summer  squash, 
the  Scallops  comprise  most  of  the  crop;  both  the  early  white  and 
yellow  being  grown — the  former  preferred.  The  yellow  crookneck 
is  also  grown  to  some  extent,  and  its  advocates  hold  it  best  adapted 
to  early  planting  because  less  liable  to  frost  injury,  but  it  must  not 
be  trusted  too  far.  The  Italian  and  Boston  marrows  have  a  few 
warm  advocates. 

Of  the  winter  squash  for  table  use,  the  Hubbard  and  the  Red 
or  Golden  Hubbard,  which  is  a  little  earlier,  are  chiefly  grown, 
while  the  Boston  Marrow,  with  sweet,  high  colored  flesh,  is  a  favor- 
ite with  the  canners.  The  field  squash  crop  is  made  of  several  varie- 
ties. The  California  Marrowfat,  a  splendid,  orange-colored  squash, 
takes  the  lead,  while  associated  with  it  in  the  same  field  may  be 
found  the  Mammoth  Chile,  which  is  usually  the  sort,  more  or  less 
pure,  which  yields  the  largest  specimens.  There  is  also  a  very  large 
winter  crookneck,  very  prolific  and  rather  more  hardy  in  trying 
situations,  but  not  so  good  in  keeping  quality  as  the  preceding.  Here 
and  there  may  be  found  a  field  of  the  old-fashioned  New  England 
pumpkin,  and  fair  exhibits  usually  bring  to  light  both  the  Etampes 
and  Tours  pumpkins,  but  the  large  orange  and  light  olive  fruits 
are  named  squashes  in  the  California  vernacular,  and  are  pre- 
ferred. There  is  much  confusion  in  the  terms  "squash"  and  "pump- 
kin," and  there  are  many  chance  hybrids  which  await  analysis  by 
some  cucurbitous  specialist. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII. 
THE  TOMATO. 

TOMATO  OR  LOVE  APPLE. — Lycopersicum  esculentum. 
French,  German,  Spanish  and  Portuguese,  tomate ;  Dutch,  tomaat ;  Italian, 
porno  d'oro. 

The  tomato  is  one  of  the  most  popular,  prolific,  and  profitable 
of  California  vegetables,  and  is  by  far  the  greatest  of  all  the  canned 
product,  as  shown  in  Chapter  I.  It  is  grown  everywhere  during 
the  local  occurrences  of  the  frost-free  period,  and  in  our  thermal 
situations  the  fruit  can  be  gathered  all  the  year.  The  earliest  fruit 
in  our  local  markets  and  the  earliest  shipments  to  the  East  are 
gathered  from  vines  which  have  continued  growth  from  the  pre- 
vious summer  and  autumn,  and,  encountering  no  killing  frost,  are 
able  to  fruit  through  the  early  winter  months.  Favorable  places 
in  the  southern  coast  counties  are  best  known  for  this  winter  crop. 
The  winter-grown  fruit  is,  of  course,  inferior  to  the  summer  and 
fall  crop,  though  it  is  excellent  enough  to  command  high  prices  for 
table  use  until  the  earliest  yield  from  spring  plantings  is  to  be  had. 
When  this  new  crop  comes  in,  the  fruit  from  the  hold-over  plants 
becomes  cheaper,  but  is  still  marketed  until  the  new  crop  becomes 
abundant.  In  this  way  one  year's  plants  in  southern  thermal  situ- 
ations continue  production  near  to  the  yield  of  the  following  year 
in  the  earliest  interior  sections  at  the  north,  and  the  tomato  supply 
from  open  air  plants  is  almost  continuous  throughout  the  year, 
though  the  supply  regions  are  hundreds  of  miles  distant  from 
each  other.  The  fact  that  the  North  produces  earlier  spring  to- 
matoes from  new  plants  than  the  south  is  difficult  for  distant  stu- 
dents to  realize.  It  is  conditioned  upon  ocean  influences  and  local 
topography,  which  at  the  South  prevents  frost  which  winter-kill 
the  old  plants  at  the  North,  and  at  the  same  time  postpone 
spring  heat  at  the  South,  which  is  attained  earlier  in  sheltered 
places  in  the  interior  at  the  North  from  which  ocean  influences 
are  excluded.  There  are  places  in  the  interior  at  the  South,  east 
of  the  high  mountain  range,  which  should  be  earlier  than  either 
the  southern  coast  or  the  northern  interior,  but  this  theoretical  ad- 
vantage has  not  yet  been  realized  in  large  production  as  high  heat 
seems  to  come  on  so  soon  after  planting  out  in  March  that  fruiting 
is  reduced. 

In  the  all-the-year  California  demand  for  the  tomato,  it  is 
necessary  to  bring  some  fruit  from  Mexico  and  from  the  forcing 
houses  of  the  southern  states,  and  it  is  probable  that  more  forcing 
of  tomatoes  will  be  undertaken  in  this  state  in  the  future.  It  is  a 
question,  however,  whether  we  should  take  to  forcing  under  glass 


266  CALIFORNIA   VEGETABLES 

or  make  use  of  cozy  nooks  where  tomatoes  need  no  such  appliances. 
Mr.  G.  P.  Rixford,  of  San  Francisco,  informed  us  in  May,  1916, 
that  he  had  seen  a  three-year-old  tomato  plant,  still  producing  fruit, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Porterville,  Tulare  county.  At  another  place  in 
the  same  region  he  saw  a  one-year-old  plant  with  plenty  of  ripe 
tomatoes. 

No  vegetable  has  advanced  so  rapidly  in  public  esteem  during 
the  last  decade  as  the  tomato,  and  in  addition  to  our  great  output 
of  canned  tomatoes  California  shipped  in  1916  about  twelve  hun- 
dred carloads  from  August  to  January,  which  were  chiefly  grown 
in  Los  Angeles  and  Orange  counties.  Other  large  producing  regions 
are  around  the  bay  of  San  Francisco  and  in  the  Sacramento  and 
San  Joaquin  valleys. 

Shipments  of  fresh  tomatoes  are  not  only  in  late  fall  and  early 
winter  to  the  East  but  in  spring  and  early  summer  many  carloads 
go  to  the  upper  coast  states  and  to  mountain  states,  where  the  crop 
is  late  or  difficult  to  grow  at  all. 

Requirements  of  the  Tomato. — For  spring  planting  of  tomatoes 
which  are  to  attain  their  chief  growth  before  the  close  of  the  rainy 
season,  somewhat  elevated  situations,  above  the  lowland  frosts,  and 
with  light,  warm  soils  and  free  drainage,  should  be  selected.  Some- 
times frosts  will  occasion  replanting,  for  which  a  stock  of  thrifty 
plants  should  always  be  in  readiness.  It  is  idle  to  attempt  the 
growth  of  early  tomatoes  on  a  commercial  scale  except  on  situa- 
tions naturally  fitted  for  them.  In  the  family  garden  slight  cov- 
ering from  frost  can  be  successfully  undertaken. 

For  the  main  crop  of  tomatoes,  rich,  lower  lands,  either 
naturally  retentive  of  moisture  or  supplied  therewith  by  irrigation, 
are  usually  employed.  Even  heavy  valley  soils  are  profitably  used 
by  thorough  preparation  before  planting  and  cultivation  afterward. 
Late  planting  can  be  practiced  and  immense  yields  are  secured  for 
harvesting  in  September  and  October,  when  the  fruit  is  of  superior 
solidity  and  the  canneries  are  clear  of  their  summer  fruit  work 
and  can  turn  their  full  capacity  to  this  most  popular  canned  vege- 
table. In  some  parts  of  the  state,  November  and  December  toma- 
toes are  very  profitable  when  autumn  frosts  and  rains  are  light. 

The  moisture  requirements  of  the  tomato  are  moderate,  but 
they  must  be  adequately  met.  Stunted  vines  and  small,  inferior 
fruit  are  the  results  of  drought.  High  heat  can  be  endured  and 
favors  growth,  provided  ample  moisture  is  available.  The  more 
moderate  heat  of  the  coast  regions  and  the  interior  river  bottoms 
is,  however,  adequate  for  full  development  of  the  plant,  and  it  is 
attained  with  much  less  moisture  than  on  the  higher  lands  of  the 
interior.  For  this  reason  splendid  crops  are  secured  without  irri- 
gation on  retentive  soils  in  valleys  of  sufficient  rainfall,  even  if  the 
plants  are  not  set  until  the  opening  of  the  dry  season — provided 
suitable  winter  and  spring  working  is  given  to  prevent  evaporation 
and  to  hold  moisture  near  the  surface.  On  lands  moistened  by 


HOW   TO  START  TOMATO   PLANTS 


267 


underflow  splendid  tomatoes  can  be  grown  without  irrigation  all 
through  the  local  frost-free  period. 

Growing  Plants  for  the  Garden. — Tomato  plants  may  be  grown 
from  stem  cuttings  as  described  in  Chapter  XI,  but  they  are  usually 
grown  from  seed  and  the  best  plants  are  those  produced  with  mod- 
erate heat.  They  need  protection  from  cold  rather  than  forcing 
heat,  as  our  day  temperatures  from  February  onward  are  almost 
always  adequate.  For  early  starting  of  plants  some  bottom  heat 
is  often  desirable  and  can  be  profitably  used  if  care  is  taken  for 
free  admission  of  air  and  subsequent  hardening  of  the  plants  by 
later  growth  under  protection  but  at  lower  temperatures.  The 
considerations  urged  in  the  chapter  on  propagation  for  the  hand- 
ling of  seeds  and  seedlings  have  special  applicability  to  the  growth 
of  tomato  plants.  For  the  home  garden  there  is  perhaps  no  better 
way  of  growing  plants  than  that  of  Ira  W.  Adams,  as  follows : 

Plant  the  seed  about  the  middle  of  February  in  a  small  box  two  inches 
in  depth  and  keep  in  the  house  by  a  south  window  in  a  moderately  warm 
room.  On  warm,  sunny  days,  put  them  outdoors,  and  let  them  remain  out 
day  and  night  whenever  the  weather  is  warm  enough ;  in  this  way  they  will 
make  stocky  plants  and  be  much  hardier  than  if  raised  altogether  in  the 
» house.  The  soil  should  be  rich  and  mellow,  and  always  kept  a  little  moist. 
When  the  plants  appear,  thin  out  to  an  inch  apart.  As  soon  as  the  plants 
begin  to  crowd  each  other,  transplant  to  another  box,  about  four  inches  in 
depth  and  give  them  a  space  of  four  inches.  By  the  time  they  crowd  each 
other  again  they  can  be  transplanted  outdoors  on  the  south  side  of  the  house 
or  barn  into  a  good-sized  bed  of  rich  soil.  Here  they  can  remain  until  they 
get  to  be  large,  strong,  hardy  plants,  with  very  large,  fibrous  roots.  When 
all  danger  of  frost  is  over,  take  a  sharp  spade  and  cut  out  a  square  of  dirt 
with  each  plant,  put  into  rows  six  feet  apart,  with  the  plants  the  same  dis- 
tance in  the  row.  Plants  can  be  transplanted  in  this  way  when  over  a  foot 
high  and  in  blossom.  By  transplanting  them  just  at  night,  or  on  a  cloudy 
day,  they  will  hardly  ever  show  a  wilted  leaf. 

Another  way  to  secure  large  plants  for  garden  planting  is  to 
start  them  in  a  seed-box,  in  the  house,  or  with  bottom  heat  as  de- 
scribed in  the  chapter  on  propagation,  and  then  transplant  when 
small,  into  growing  cases  made  of  discarded  fruit  cans.  Select 
those  of  similar  size,  throw  them  on  a  burning  brush  pile  for  a  few 
minutes,  when  the  tops  and  bottoms  will  drop  out,  and  the  seams 
on  the  sides  will  open,  leaving  a  smooth  tin  shell.  Tie  a  string 
around  each  to  keep  it  from  spreading.  Set  them  in  a  box  or  frame 
made  of  four  boards.  Fill  the  cans  and  the  spaces  between  them 
with  good  friable  soil,  set  a  small  plant  in  the  center  of  each  shell, 
sprinkle  well  and  keep  moist.  When  the  plants  are  well  grown 
they  may  be  transplanted  in  the  garden.  Take  the  cans  carefully 
out  of  the  frames,  grasping  the  cans  firmly  to  prevent  the  plants 
and  soil  slipping  out ;  set  them  in  a  box  or  wheelbarrow  and  move 
them  where  wanted.  Prepare  the  soil  by  working  in  a  shovelful  of 
well-rotted  manure  where  a  plant  is  to  stand,  but  this  is  not  re- 
quired if  the  soil  is  rich.  Dig  a  hole  deep  enough  to  set  the  upper 
rim  of  the  can  level  with  the  ground,  cut  the  string  and  fill  up  and 


268  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

press  the  soil  firmly  around  the  can,  then  by  spreading  the  top  of 
the  can  a  trifle,  it  can  be  drawn  out  over  the  plants  without  dis- 
turbing the  roots.  If  the  weather  is  dry  and  warm,  water  may  be 
used  at  transplanting — drawing  loose  soil  around  the  plant  after 
the  water  soaks  away. 

It  is  also  practicable  to  use  small  containers  in  the  hot-bed, 
such  as  small  pasteboard  folders,  berry  baskets,  etc.,  as  described  in 
Chapter  XL  In  such  case  the  seed  is  planted  in  the  container  and 
the  plants  thinned  to  one  and  set  out  later  without  removing  the 
container,  which  will  soon  decay  in  moist  soil. 

Growing  Plants  for  Field  Planting. — The  above  methods  will 
produce  plants  of  great  size  and  vigor  to  delight  the  amateur.  For 
a  field  crop  it  is  hardly  practicable  to  grow  and  handle  plants  in 
such  an  expensive  way,  and  satisfactory  results  can  be  attained  with 
much  less  labor.  For  late  planting  they  may  be  grown  in  quantity 
in  a  cold  frame  with  cloth  cover  or  in  a  raised  bed  with  slight  pro- 
tection from  frost  and  sheltered  from  cold  winds,  or  even  on  the 
open  ground  in  frostless  places.  Large  quantities  are  «ften  grown 
from  the  seed  by  simply  thinning  the  seedlings  as  they  stand,  though 
the  transplanted  seedlings  are  always  more  thrifty  and  stocky.  They 
have  a  much  better  root-system,  and  grow  more  thriftily  after  trans-' 
planting.  Take  the  seedlings '  when  they  have  come  in  the  rough 
leaf,  and  with  a  small  hardwood  stick,  made  pointed  at  one  end, 
take  up  the  young  plants  and  dibble  them  in  clear  down  to  the  seed 
leaf.  Place  them  about  three  inches  apart  each  way,  water  them 
well,  and  in  a  few  days  they  will  begin  to  grow,  and  in  this  way 
fine,  stocky  plants  can  be  grown  almost  ready  to  blossom  when 
they  are  set  out  in  the  open  ground  where  they  are  to  remain. 
There  is  nothing  gained  by  setting  out  tomatoes  in  the  open  ground 
when  they  are  too  small ;  if  anything,  time  is  lost  by  doing  so,  while 
a  large,  stocky  plant  has  plenty  of  fine  fibrous  roots,  and  is  rapidly 
established  in  its  new  place. 

A  detailed  account  of  growing  tomato  plants  in  open  seed-beds 
for  field  planting  is  given  by  Prof.  S.  S.  Rogers*  as  follows : 

The  customary  method  for  raising  the  plants  in  the  seed-beds  is  by 
sowing  the  seed  in  drills  from  three  to  six  inches  apart  or  by  broadcasting. 
The  former  method  is  preferable  for  the  grower  who  has  had  a  limited  ex- 
perience or  for  purposes  of  producing  rapidly  growing  plants.  Soil  which 
is  used  for  this  purpose  should  be  light  and  worked  to  a  very  fine  condi- 
tion of  tilth  before  seeding.  It  is  desirable  also  to  spade  under  a  heavy 
coating  of  stable  manure  long  enough  in  advance  of  seeding  to  insure 
thorough  rotting.  It  will  aid  in  germinating  the  seed  if  burlap  or  muslin 
be  placed  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  until  the  plants  have  appeared,  at 
which  time  it  should  be  removed.  The  seed  should  be  covered  with  from 
one-quarter  to  one-half  inch,  and  sand  is  found  desirable,  especially  if  the 
soil  in  the  bed  is  of  a  heavy  nature.  Beds  should  be  located  on  a  well- 
drained  spot,  preferably  on  the  south  side  of  a  fence  or  building.  Water 
should  be  piped  to  the  beds  so  that  they  may  be  easily  sprinkled.  The  beds 
should  be  sprinkled  often  enough  to  keep  the  surface  moist,  watering  fre- 
quently rather  than  in  large  amounts  at  longer  intervals.  Many  growers 

*In  Circular  147  of  University  Experiment  Station,  Berkeley. 


FIELD  CULTURE  OF  TOMATOES  269 

sprinkle  lightly  once  or  twice  a  day  until  the  plants  have  appeared  at  the 
surface.  Where  the  surface  covering  has  been  used  water  may  be  applied 
through  it.  Care  must  be  taken  not  to  have  the  soil  too  wet,  for  the  young 
plants  are  very  liable  to  injury.  Where  very  early  plants  are  desired, 
growers  sometimes  heat  the  water  before  applying  it.  After  the  seedlings 
appear  watering  should  be  done  very  carefully  and  should  be  governed 
entirely  by  the  condition  of  the  plants  and  there  is  more  danger  from  too 
much  than  too  little  irrigation.  During  cloudy  weather,  the  beds  should 
not  be  watered  unless  absolutely  necessary  and  the  sprinkling  should  be 
done  in  the  morning  so  the  surface  and  the  tops  of  the  plants  may  dry 
before  night. 

After  the  seedlings  are  from  two  to  four  inches  in  height  they  should 
be  thinned  to  two  to  five  inches  between  plants;  the  beds  carefully  weeded 
and  if  in  drills,  the  soil  between  the  rows  thoroughly  stirred.  A  week  or  so 
before  the  plants  are  to  be  taken  from  the  beds,  watering  should  be  stopped 
and  if  they  have  been  grown  under  some  protection,  this  should  gradually 
be  removed  in  order  that  they  may  become  "hardened  off,"  for  if  the  plants 
are  removed  when  they  are  growing  rapidly,  it  is  difficult  to  get  them  estab- 
lished without  seriously  checking  their  growth.  A  few  hours  before  remov- 
ing the  plants,  the  beds  should  be  thoroughly  wet  to  aid  in  preserving  the 
fibrous  roots.  If  the  plants  have  grown  too  large,  the  tops  should  be  cut 
off  to  about  six  or  eight  inches  from  the  ground  before  being  transplanted. 
An  experienced  grower  may  be  able  to  talce  up  plants  properly  by  pulling 
them  up,  but  it  is  best  to  use  a  shovel  or  trowel,  cutting  off  the  roots  about 
four  inches  below  the  surface  and  taking  up  with  adhering  earth.  The 
plants  may  either  be  placed  in  pans  or  in  baskets,  or  rolled  in  sacks  and 
carried  to  the  field,  care  being  taken  not  to  expose  their  roots  to  the  air 
longer  than  is  necessary. 

Field  Planting  of  Tomatoes. — Preparation  of  land  for  tomatoes 
should  begin  early  in  the  rainy  season,  as  for  beans,  corn  or  melons, 
to  render  the  soil  absorptive  of  moisture  and  to  secure  good  deep 
tilth.  Re-working  in  the  spring,  and  cultivation  until  it  is  safe  to 
plant  out  the  tomatoes,  keeps  the  soil  in  fine  condition,  saves  moist- 
ure and  insures  a  crop  at  minimum  cost.  Crops  are  often  grown 
on  spring  plowing  alone,  but  it  is  an  uphill  task,  and  attended  by 
great  risk  of  failure,  if  spring  rains  are  scant,  as  they  often  are. 

Field  planting  is  generally  done  by  hand,  sometimes  at  the 
intersection  of  cross-markings,  but  often  with  less  care,  by  placing 
the  plants  firmly  on  the  side  of  a  furrow  and  covering  with  another 
furrow.  Some  large  growers  use  the  transplanting  machine  men- 
tioned for  sweet  potatoes,  and  it  works  well  when  the  soil  is  in 
good  condition.  A  special  note  made  of  this  machine  as  it  was 
seen  at  work  is  as  follows: 

On  a  ten-acre  field  in  Solano  county  three  men  were  planting  tomatoes 
early  in  May,  as  fast  as  the  horses  could  walk.  A  middle-break  plow  is 
fastened  between  two  wheels  at  the  end  of  a  wagon  tongue.  Following  this 
is  a  knife  between  two  four-foot  wheels,  which  digs  deep  in  the  ground  and 
is  flared  into  two  blades  behind,  to  leave  an  opening  for  the  plants.  A  barrel 
above  the  middle-break  supplies  water  through  a  hose  to  this  opening.  One 
man  drives,  two  men  ride  seats  close  to  the  ground  so  they  can  take  the 
tomato  plants  from  the  platforms  in  front  of  them  and  place  them  in  the 
freshly  moistened  opening  as  the  machine  travels.  Two  curved  knives  fol- 
low the  cutter  knife  to  rake  the  dirt  tight  up  to  the  plant.  The  tomatoes 
were  being  set  about  five  feet  apart  each  way  and  about  six  inches  deep. 
They  promptly  wilted  in  the  noonday  sun,  but  recovered  the  first  night. 


270  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

For  late  planting  especially,  and  in  light  soils,  it  is  desirable 
to  set  the  plants  quite  deeply  in  the  soil.  The  rule  with  some  grow- 
ers is  to  set  the  plant  half  the  length  of  the  stem  deeper  than  it 
stood  in  the  seed-bed  and  in  light,  dry  interior  soils  the  stem  has 
been  entirely  buried  with  good  results.  Depth  of  planting  depends 
upon  the  character  of  the  soil  and  its  content  of  moisture.  Where 
moisture  is  to  be  abundant  it  is  better  to  have  the  roots  nearer  the 
surface. 

Distance  depends  upon  variety.  The  usual  distance  is  six  feet 
apart  each  way  or  four  by  six  for  the  standard  growers/  but  some 
plant  more  widely,  and  dwarf  varieties  are  set  at  intervals  of 
four  feet. 

Summer  Treatment. — Very  seldom  is  any  effort  made  even  in 
garden  culture  to  support  the  plant  above  the  earth  surface.  As  the 
crop  is  largely  grown  without  irrigation  or  with  sub-irrigation  by 
seepage  from  ditches,  the  earth  surface  is  always  warm  and  dry, 
and  rot  is  almost  unknown.  The  soil  should  be  cultivated  as  long 
as  it  can  be  done  without  injury  to  the  prostrate  plants,  and  hoeing 
to  prevent  baking  of  the  soil  around  the  stem  should  be  faithfully 
done  as  long  as  practicable.  Two  or  three  hoeings  and  four  or 
five  cultivations  are  usually  given.  Well-grown  plants  on  rich,  moist 
soils  almost  cover  the  surface  even  when  given  the  widest  distances. 

It  is  commonly  believed  that  excessive  growth  of  foliage  re- 
tards ripening  and  reduces  fruitage.  Whenever  this  occurs,  as  on 
very  rich  and  moist  interior  soils,  free  cutting  back  of  the  plants 
with  a  scythe,  is  practiced  with  good  results.  Summer  pruning  of 
over-rank  garden  plants  is  also  desirable. 

Irrigation. — As  already  stated,  the  tomato  abhors  dry  soil,  and 
in  some  situations  irrigation  is  essential.  Care  must  be  had  against 
over-irrigation,  especially  in  the  coast  region,  where  proper  plant- 
ing and  cultivation  will  give  satisfactory  results  with  the  natural 
moisture.  It  must  be  remembered  that  it  is  not  desirable  to  get  a 
large  vine-growth  but  much  fruit  on  a  relatively  small  plant.  Not 
only  does  excessive  watering  during  the  early  growth  of  the  plant 
cause  dropping  of  blossoms  and  promote  foliage  at  the  expense  of 
fruit,  but  too  much  water  after  fruit  is  set  is  apt  to  give  a  tomato 
which  slices  up  into  cart-wheels  instead  of  firm  and  solid  discs  of 
flesh.  Most  growers  cultivate  too  slackly,  especially  when  irriga- 
tion water  is  used. 

Irrigation  by  flooding  is  sometimes  successfully  practiced,  but 
application  of  water  which  does  not  wet  the  surface  beneath  the 
plants  is  preferred. 

Tomatoes  With  Much  Work  and  Water. — Quite  a  departure 
in  all  respects  from  general  California  methods  are  those  of  Mr. 
S.  Dalforno,  of  Merced  county,  who  shipped  3500  20-pound  boxes 
of  tomatoes  in  1916  from  14,000  plants  on  his  adobe  soil.  The 
plants  were  transplanted  in  mid-February  from  hot-beds  to  cold- 
frames,  being  set  an  inch  deeper  than  they  were  in  the  hot-bed,  but 


VARIETIES  OF  TOMATOES  271 

not  over  the  seed  leaves.  They  were  transplanted  to  the  field  in 
April  when  about  12  inches  tall,  having  already  in  some  cases  had 
their  laterals  taken  off.  The  plants  were  put  one  foot  apart  in 
trenches  three  feet  apart  and  were  set  about  six  inches  deep.  A 
light  irrigation  was  given  at  planting,  the  ground  being  cold.  A 
stake  about  four  feet  high  was  placed  beside  each  plant  which  was 
tied  to  it  with  coarse  string.  About  10  to  15  days  after  the  first 
watering,  a  heavier  irrigation  was  given,  as  the  ground  was  warmer 
then.  Through  the  hot  weather  water  was  given  every  three  or 
four  days.  After  the  first  irrigation,  ground  was  cultivated  toward 
the  vines  to  keep  water  away  from  them.  As  they  grew,  they  were 
suckered  three  times  in  the  season,  leaving  only  one  leader  to  grow 
up  beside  the  stake.  Its  terminal  bud  was  pinched  off  at  four  feet 
high  and  the  energy  of  the  plants  went  mostly  into  producing  fine, 
big,  smooth,  clean  fruit.  The  stakes  and  staking  more  than  paid  for 
themselves  in  increased  quantity  and  quality  of  crop,  as  well  as 
labor  saved  in  picking.  The  tomatoes  set  in  three  distinct  crops  a 
foot  apart  on  the  vines. 

Picking  Tomatoes. — Tomatoes  for  shipping  should  always  be 
picked  right.  For  such  purpose  the  fruit  should  be  picked  when 
slightly  blushed,  not  by  squeezing  or  pulling.  Encircle  it  with  all 
the  fingers  and  twist  carefully,  leaving  the  stem  on  the  vine,  or  rub 
it  off  afterward,  if  it  parts  from  the  vine.  Do  not  leave  the  stem 
end  on  the  fruit.  Pick  in  shallow  boxes,  not  in  deep  pails  or  bas- 
kets, and  use  two  receivers;  one  for  perfect  fruit,  the  other  for 
culls.  Do  not  handle  the  fruit  roughly,  even  if  it  seems  very  firm. 

Yield. — With  all  conditions  favorable,  tomatoes  make  a  very 
large  return.  Twelve  and  a  half  to  fifteen  tons  of  marketable  to- 
matoes have  been  gathered  as  an  average  per  acre  from  large  tracts, 
and  yields  as  high  as  twenty-five  tons  have  been  reported.  The 
largest  specimen  of  which  the  writer  has  record  was  grown  in  Cala- 
veras  county,  with  the  following  dimensions :  circumference,  twenty- 
two  and  one-half  inches ;  diameter  at  widest  place,  eight  inches ; 
weight,  four  and  one-half  pounds.  Mr.  Ira  W.  Adams  reports  that 
he  grew  one  year  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  pounds  of  ripe  toma- 
toes from  one  vine,  and  when  the  frost  came  picked  thirty-four 
pounds  of  green  ones.  This  vine  covered  a  space  of  nearly  eight 
feet  square ;  it  grew  on  the  edge  of  a  ditch  used  for  running  water 
to  blackberry  vines.  It  was  an  instance  of  ample  irrigation  by 
seepage. 

Varieties. — California  grows  all  the  many  improved  tomatoes 
with  which  American  seedsmen  have  enriched  our  vegetable  list, 
and  new  varieties  should  always  be  looked  for  in  California  seeds- 
men's catalogues.  They  always  offer  choice  yellow  varieties  for 
preserving.  Varieties  which  include  those  commercially  most  prom- 
inent, are  few  and  are  as  follows : 

Sparks  Earliana :  very  early,  tall  growing;  fruit  large,  smooth,  scarlet; 
flesh  deep  red,  solid. 


272  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Chalk's  Early  Jewel :  nearly  as  early ;  fruit  large,  smooth,  regular  in  form 
and  ripening  evenly;  bright  scarlet;  continuous  bearing. 

Dwarf  Champion :  low  growing,  upright ;  fruit  medium,  pink  to  purplish 
red,  according  to  locality;  popular  in  the  interior  heat,  especially  at  the  south 
and  in  the  foothills  of  central  California. 

Stone:  tall  and  fruitful;  fruit  large,  smooth,  uniform,  bright  red,  solid; 
widely  popular  in  California  for  canning  and  shipping.  A  Dwarf  Stone, 
resembling  Dwarf  Champion  in  growth  is  also  a  good  shipping  variety  at 
the  south  and  New  Improved  Stone  is  also  approved  in  that  part  of  the  state. 

San  Filippo:  firm  and  of  good  color;  popular  in  the  San  Francisco  bay 
district 

Ponderosa :  a  strong  growing  vine ;  fruit  very  large,  somewhat  irregular 
and  variable  in  color,  usually  light  red ;  flesh  thick  but  not  always  firm. 

Trophy:  vigorous  and  productive;  fruit  deep  red,  somewhat  irregular, 
solid  and  firm  in  the  true  type,  with  ring-mark  at  apex;  chiefly  grown  for 
canning  in  Alameda  county,  displacing  Stone. 

San  Jose  Canner:  large,  scarlet,  smooth  and  solid  and  very  productive; 
fine  table  variety  and  approved  by  canners. 

There  is  an  opinion  current  among  California  growers  that 
even  the  best  of  the  eastern  improved  tomatoes  are  still  further  im- 
proved by  California  growing  conditions  if  constant  selection  is 
practiced  to  preserve  the  best  types.  For  instance  the  "Trophy"  is 
very  largely  grown  as  a  late  tomato  for  canners'  use,  and  planters 
insist  upon  securing  California  grown  seed,  but  careless  seed  saving 
resulted  in  Trophies  widely  different  from  the  true  type  and  very 
inferior. 

In  each  of  the  large  growing  districts  there  is  much  to  be 
learned  about  the  locally  most  satisfactory  varieties  by  observation 
and  inquiry.  Cannery  managers  and  field  men  should  also  be  con- 
sulted as  to  varieties  most  acceptable  for  their  uses.  The  amateur, 
however,  is  not  hampered  by  such  requirements  and  can  range  the 
large  lists  as  he  pleases. 

TOMATO  TROUBLES. 

The  tomato  plant  has  a  number  of  diseases  of  which  the  plant 
pathologists  of  the  University  have  made  close  study  for  several 
years  and  of  which  Circular  147  by  Prof.  Rogers,  to  which  allusion 
has  been  made  earlier  in  this  chapter,  gives  the  latest  account.  The 
first  to  be  encountered,  that  is  in  the  seed-bed,  is  "damping  off," 
which  has  been  discussed  in  Chapter  XL  Next  is  the  "winter 
blight,"  a  blackening  of  the  leaves,  which  is  prevented  by  the  Bor- 
deaux mixture  applied  as  soon  as  its  first  signs  appear.  Then  there 
is  "blossom  end  rot,"  which  seems  to  be  controlled  by  culture  and 
irrigation  which  gives  the  plant  regular  and  adequate  soil-moisture. 
"Leaf  spot"  shows  itself  in  angular  spots  with  pale  centers  and  col- 
ored edges  and  is  checked  by  Bordeaux  mixture.  "Summer  blight" 
kills  plants  usually  in  the  spring  and  the  symptoms  are  curling  and 
yellowing  of  the  leaves  and  collapse  of  the  whole  plant  quickly.  No 
cause  has  been  determined.  Fortunately  plants  set  after  June  for 
the  main  crop  are  less  seriously  affected  than  earlier  in  the  season. 
No  treatment  seems  to  have  any  effect. 


PROTECTING   YOUNG  TOMATOES  273 

In  the  bay  district  plants  are  attacked  in  the  field  by  a  black 
beetle,  which  is  prevented  by  wrapping  the  plants  in  six  inch  square 
pieces  of  newspaper  and  planting  in  this  wrapper — which  both  roots 
and  tops  soon  outgrow. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 
TURNIPS. 

TURNIP. — Brassica  napus. 

French,  navet ;  German,  herbst-riibe ;  Dutch,  raap ;  Danish,  roe ;  Italian, 
navone ;  Spanish  and  Portuguese,  nabo. 
KOHL-RABI. — Brassica  caulo-rapa. 

French,    choux-raves ;    German,    knollkohl ;    Flemish,    raaphool ;    Italian, 
cavolo-rapa. 

RUTABAGA. — Idem. 

French,  chouxnavets ;  German,  kohlrube ;  Dutch,  koolraapen  onder  den 
grond;  Italian,  cavolo  navone. 

These  members  of  the  cabbage  family  are  somewhat  arbitrarily 
classed  as  turnips  for  convenience  and  in  accordance  with  local 
popular  usage.  Kohl-rabi  has  swollen  stem,  clearly  above  ground; 
rutabaga  has  a  swollen  root  partly  above  ground,  partly  below ;  the 
turnip  proper  is  another  species  of  brassica,  which  has  a  swollen 
root  and  a  manner  of  growth  like  rutabaga.  In  California  all  these 
vegetables  take  a  much  lower  rank  in  popularity  and  usefulness 
than  the  cabbage  group  of  the  same  genus  discussed  in  Chapter 
XVI.  Judged  as  root  crops  they  are  inferior  in  use  and  esteem  to 
the  other  esculent  roots  already  considered.  They  have  no  local 
standing  whatever  for  stock  purposes,  for  two  reasons  at  least : 
they  do  not  endure  well  our  summer  heat  and  drought,  but  become 
a  prey  to  fungus  and  un thrift;  they  will  not  rest  and  start  again 
for  larger  root-expansion,  as  do  the  beet  and  carrot.  Such  being 
their  weakness  and  perversity,  the  stock  feeder  abandons  them, 
which  he  can  readily  afford  to  do  in  view  of  the  fact  that  he  has 
many  other  more  serviceable  crops.  He  can  have  any  quantity  of 
immense  beets  and  carrots  which  are  making  their  re-enlargement 
from  the  previous  spring  sowing,  to  feed  in  the  winter ;  he  can  have 
for  late  summer  use,  corn  and  squashes,  which  grow  riotously  in 
summer  heat  which  distresses  the  turnip.  He  does  well  enough 
without  the  turnip,  in  view  of  its  behavior  and  his  own  supplies 
from  other  sources. 

At  one  time,  however,  the  turnip  was  coming  widely  into  fa- 
vor in  the  dairy  region  of  Humboldt  because  it  developed  more 
rapidly  from  spring  sowing  and  would  be  ready  for  feeding  in  July 
and  August,  while  beets  and  carrots  came  considerably  later.  But 
the  creameries  shut  down  on  turnip-milk  because  of  bad  flavors. 
This  ruling  largely  closed  the  career  of  the  turnip  although  the 
cool,  moist  air  of  Humboldt  county's  summer  is  greatly  to  its  liking. 

The  vegetables,  then,  which  we  group  in  this  chapter,  must  be 
estimated  alone  upon  their  table  value,  and  here,  too,  they  are  af- 
flicted by  an  ill-indisposition.  They  are  not  good  keepers  in  this 
[274] 


WAYS  WITH  TURNIPS 


275 


climate,  and,  though  they  can  be  packed  away  in  sand  for  use  dur- 
ing our  warm,  rainy  winter,  the  people  have  other  supplies  of 
fresher  character  in  the  winter,  and  do  not  find  either  turnips  or 
parsnips  as  desirable  as  they  are  in  wintry  countries. 

Turnips  and  rutabagas  are  then  reduced  to  claim  popularity 
upon  their  excellence  as  quickly  grown  for  immediate  use  when 
mature,  and  under  this  restriction  they  centainly  enjoy  a  fair  measure 
of  popularity.  Kohl-rabi  is  very  little  used  and  its  narrow  fame 
is  chiefly  confined  to  citizens  of  French  and  German  descent. 

Culture. — The  growth  of  all  these  plants  is  simple  and  can  be 
undertaken  anywhere  in  California,  providing  their  dislike  of  sum- 
mer heat  and  dry  air  is  borne  in  mind.  The  culture  methods  pre- 
scribed for  the  beet  and  carrot  befit  the  turnip  in  the  direction  of 
preparation  of  soil,  sowing  the  seed  and  cultivation.  The  plants 
are  hardy  against  frost  and  can  be  successfully  produced  all  through 
our  valley  winters.  Sowing  for  winter  use  may  begin  early  in  the 
fall  on  irrigated  ground  or  as  soon  as  the  rains  fall.  Sowing  for 
spring  and  early  summer  can  be  done  at  any  time  during  the  winter 
when  the  soil  is  sufficiently  dry  and  warm  for  germination  and 
growth  of  the  seedling.  In  valleys  of  heavy  rainfall  and  frosts, 
February  sowing  may  be  best  for  spring  use,  but  in  warmer,  drier 
parts  earlier  sowing  is  desirable.  The  plant  needs  adequate  moist- 
ure and  a  moderate  temperature,  and  its  growth  is  a  matter  of  con- 
ditions not  of  the  calendar.  It  is  plain,  then,  that  turnips  are  well 
adapted  to  winter  gardening  in  California,  and,  if  pushed  to  ma- 
turity rapidly,  they  will  be  found  very  tender  and  delicious.  Sow- 
ing for  succession  will  give  turnips  fresh  from  the  soil  in  all  their 
excellence  through  many  months  in  our  warmer  valleys. 

Both  the  flat  turnips  and  the  rutabagas  or  Swedish  turnips  are 
grown  in  the  same  way,  and  both  reach  edible  size  very  quickly 
under  favorable  conditions.  Culture  is  like  that  advised  for  the 
radish  except  that  they  need  wider  spacing.  Rutabagas  are  better 
keepers  and  more  serviceable  for  winter  storage  than  flat  turnips, 
though  both  are  mainly  used  fresh  from  the  ground  in  this  state. 

Rutabagas  are  sometimes  transplanted  from  the  seed-bed,  as 
space  becomes  available  here  and  there  in  the  garden  for  them. 
They  are  handled  just  as  cabbage  plants  are. 

Kohl-rabi  is  grown  in  the  same  way  as  common  cabbage,  both 
in  starting  plants  and  planting  out. 

Varieties. — The  flat  turnips  chiefly  grown  are  Early  Snowball, 
Early  White  Dutch  and  Purple  Top  Milan — the  latter  being  pre- 
ferred by  market  gardeners.  The  Purple  Top  Flat  Dutch  or  Strap 
Leaf  and  Purple  Top  White  Globe  are  also  in  good  favor. 

Rutabagas  are  so  little  grown  that  there  is  doubt  which  has 
the  preference  of  several  good  kinds  listed  by  our  seedsmen;  the 
Purple  Top  Yellow  or  Long  Island  seem,  however,  to  be  most 
popular. 

Of  Kohl-rabi  the  White  Vienna  is  usually  grown. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 
VEGETABLE  SUNDRIES. 

It  is  not  intended  to  make  this  volume  a  complete  treatise  upon 
the  esculent  plants  which  may  be  grown  in  California,  nor  to  claim 
that  it  contains  a  complete  enumeration  of  those  which  are  actually 
grown  at  the  present  time.  Such  a  task  would  be  appalling  in 
view  of  the  wide  adaptability  of  the  climate  and  the  fact  that  our 
population  includes  natives  of  every  country  under  the  sun  who 
have  brought  hither  the  plants  which  have  delighted  them  in  their 
old  homes.  Conspicuous  among  such  contributions  to  our  culti- 
vated flora  are  the  acquisitions  from  China  and  Japan,  which  alone 
would  require  much  time  to  identify  and  characterize.  Our  acqui- 
sitions of  minor  vegetables  from  Europe  are  hardly  less  interesting. 
It  must  be  left  for  some  future  student  to  properly  arrange  all  these 
for  public  information.  In  the  present  work  it  has  been  rather  the 
intention  of  the  writer  to  treat  the  more  conspicuous  and  widely 
useful  vegetables,  because  in  that  line  the  present  demand  for  in- 
formation lies.  An  attempt  will,  however,  be  made  in  this  chapter 
to  briefly  mention  a  few  plants  concerning  which  inquiry  may  arise 
in  the  minds  of  readers,  and  to  offer  suggestions  on  their  culture. 

CAPERS. — Capparis  spinosa. 

The  production  of  "capers"  on  a  commercial  scale  has  fre- 
quently been  mooted  in  California,  and  so  far  as  the  local  adoption 
of  the  plant  goes,  anticipations  of  success  seem  to  be  well  placed. 
The  plant  thrives  with  moderate  moisture — enough  could  be  con- 
served by  cultivation  on  any  fairly  retentive  soil.  It  has  been  grow- 
ing thriftily  for  years  on  adobe  soil  in  the  University  garden  in 
Berkeley,  and  has  produced  prolifically  the  flower-buds  which  are 
used  in  pickling.  The  labor  of  frequently  hand-picking  the  buds 
must,  however,  be  considered  in  connection  with  any  projected  en- 
terprise. A  few  plants  for  the  home  garden  can  be  strongly  com- 
mended. They  can  be  grown  in  corners  or  in  borders  and  are 
decidedly  handsome  in  leaf  and  blossom.  Plants  may  be  easily 
grown  from  seed  in  a  seed-box  or  can  be  multiplied  by  stem  cut- 
tings in  a  sand-box  over  mild  bottom  heat. 

CHAYOTE. — Sechium  edule. 

This  squash-like  vegetable  was  introduced  to  California  by  the 
late  Kinton  Stevens,  of  Santa  Barbara,  previous  to  1890  and  was 
first  called  "choco"  and  classed  as  a  fruit.*  It  belongs,  however, 
among  the  vegetables  and  in  southern  California  has  become  of 

*California  Fruits;  2nd  Edition,  p.  480;  1891. 

[276] 


VARIOUS  VEGETABLES  277 

commercial  note.  It  resembles  a  squash  and  is  cooked  in  many 
ways.  It  is  a  free-growing  vine  and  very  productive.  One  Cali- 
fornia grower  reports  a  single  vine  bearing  more  than  350  fruits, 
averaging  more  than  ten  ounces  weight.  D.  F.  Reichard,  of  Los 
Angeles  county,  gives  the  California  Cultivator  these  cultural  points : 

Being  a  tropical  vine  it  grows  only  in  warm  weather.  In  southern  Cali- 
fornia it  is  planted  in  February.  The  fruit,  which  envelops  only  one  seed,  is 
planted  whole  with  the  large  end  down,  leaving  the  small  end  out  of  the 
ground.  The  young  plant  sprouts  from  the  large  end.  Plant  where  they  are 
to  grow  in  well  drained  soil.  Keep  them  only  damp  enough  to  allow  good 
growth  until  warm  weather  comes  on,  when  they  will  require  lots  of  water. 
If  the  early  sprouts  are  frozen  back  do  not  be  alarmed  as  new  growth  will 
soon  appear.  The  first  year  runners  20  to  30  feet  will  be  made  and  probably 
some  fruit.  The  winter  frost  will  freeze  these  runners  back  to  the  root,  but 
in  the  spring  new  shoots  will  come  out  and  will  grow  to  from  30  to  60  feet, 
which,  if  well  trellised,  will  produce  hundreds  of  fruits.  During  September 
the  white,  insignificant  blooms  begin  to  appear;  in  four  or  five  weeks  the 
small  fruit  are  old  enough  for  use.  They  are  cooked  and  used  the  same  as 
summer  squash  and  eggplant. 

CHERVIL. — Scandix  cerefolium  and  Chazrophyllum  bulbosum. 

There  are  two  edible  plants  known  as  chervil,  the  first  fur- 
nishes fragrant  leaves  which  are  used  as  seasoning  and  in  salad, 
the  second  an  edible  root  for  boiling.  The  first  is  a  hardy  annual, 
and  can  be  grown  from  seed,  as  lettuce  is — sowing  whenever  moist- 
ure is  adequate.  It  does  not  thrive  in  high  heat  but  can  be  helped 
by  shading  when  necessary.  The  turnip-rooted  chervil  resembles 
a  carrot  in  form,  and  may  be  grown  as  carrots  are.  The  seed  soon 
loses  its  germinating  power  and  must  be  fresh. 

CORN  SALADS. — Valerianella  olitoria  and  eriocarpa. 

Corn  salads  are  popular  winter  growing  salad  plants,  and  are 
of  easy  culture.  The  seed  is  sown  whenever  moisture  is  present  in 
the  fall,  and  a  succession  of  foliage  can  be  had  all  through  the 
rainy  season.  The  culture  is  the  same  as  for  lettuce.  The  plant 
also  resembles  lettuce;  we  have  some  varieties  of  open  growth  and 
some  which  are  disposed  to  form  somewhat  compact  heads  of 
foliage.  In  this  state  both  the  French  and  Italian  improved  kinds 
are  hardy  in  California  valley  winters. 

CRESS. — Lepidium  sativum,  and  WATER  CRESS. — Nasturtium 

officinale. 

Garden  cress  is  easily  grown  all  the  year  in  the  coast  region 
if  the  ground  is  kept  moist.  The  seed  should  be  sown  at  short 
intervals,  as  the  leaves  come  on  very  quickly.  In  the  interior  it  is 
chiefly  a  winter  plant,  as  summer  heat  checks  leaf  growth  and 
carries  the  plant  to  seed.  Water  cress  has  grown  freely  in  Cali- 
fornia ponds  and  pools,  and  was  found  in  such  places  by  our  earlier 
botanists.  In  California  it  makes  very  rank  growth,  producing 


278  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

stems  five  and  six  feet  high  and  proportionate  luxuriance  of  leaf 
growth.  It  usually  volunteers  freely  wherever  water  stands,  filling 
road-side  ditches  and  similar  places.  All  that  is  needed  is  to  pre- 
pare a  place  suitable  for  its  growth.  By  making  new,  zig-zag 
ditches,  just  a  little  off  the  level  or  contour  line,  so  the  water  will 
run  very  slowly,  one  can  grow  any  amount  of  cress  that  he  can  find 
use  or  sale  for  and  pluck  it  continuously  from  the  old  roots,  but  it 
is  not  wise  to  have  anything  to  do  with  it  in  a  commercial  way  until 
one  understands  it  fully.  It  is  used  for  garnishing,  for  salads,  for 
boiling  as  greens,  etc.  There  is  little  chance  of  selling  cress  except 
in  cities,  and  there  is  small  chance  of  profit  far  away  from  city 
consumers  because  the  cress  will  wilt  before  one  can  deliver  it. 

DANDELION. — Leontodon  taraxacum. 

This  plant  has  been  widely  introduced  on  the  moister  lands 
throughout  the  state,  and  is  used  for  salad  and  for  boiling,  as  it 
appears  in  abundance  after  the  fall  rains.  The  plant  is  also  grown 
to  a  limited  extent  by  foreign-born  market  gardeners,  and  some  of 
the  improved  garden  varieties  have  been  introduced  for  their  use. 
It  can  be  grown  as  lettuce  is,  whenever  the  soil  carries  moisture 
enough. 

GHERKIN. — Cucumis  anguria. 

This  plant  is  different  from  the  small  pickling  cucumbers  which 
are  often  called  gherkins.  It  is  a  creeping,  branching  plant,  making 
a  dense  mat  of  stems  well  laden  with  small,  oval  fruit  covered  with 
spine-like  protuberances.  It  endures  heat  and  drought  well,  and 
is  very  prolific  even  in  interior  situations  in  California. 

GINGER. — Zingiber  sp. 

Ginger  is  the  commercial  product  of  the  roots  of  several  species 
of  Zingiber — some  of  them  strictly  tropical,  others  rather  more 
hardy — but  two  conditions  are  essential:  Freedom  from  frost  and 
assurance  of  continual  soil  moisture.  The  plant  is  propagated  by 
planting  pieces  of  its  fleshy  roots  which  roughly  resemble  those  of 
the  sweet  flag.  These  are  planted  about  three  inches  deep  in  a  light 
soil  mulched  with  well-rotted  manure  and  kept  moist  continually 
by  irrigation.  Under  such  conditions  the  plant  makes  a  large  weight 
of  fleshy  roots.  Ginger  root  has  been  planted  in  California  many 
times  during  the  last  forty  years  or  more  and  we  hear  now  and 
then  of  the  plant  growing  in  a  garden,  but  there  is  probably  no 
chance  of  succeeding  with  it  as  we  usually  grow  field  crops,  and 
no  one  should  plant  it  except  in  an  experimental  way. 

KITCHEN  HERBS. 

It  is  hardly  desirable  to  enumerate  a  list  of  culinary  herbs. 
Each  housewife  has  her  own  information  and  preference  and  be- 
yond that  her  cook-book  is  an  encyclopedia.  Suffice  it  to  say  that 


MUSHROOM  GROWING  279 

nearly  the  whole  collection  of  plants  grown  in  northern  climates 
for  fragrant  leaves  or  seeds  is  hardy  in  the  California  winter,  and 
most  of  them  do  best  with  early  sowing — as  soon  as  the  soil  is  well 
moistened  by  the  fall  rains.  Most  failures  with  them  are  traceable 
to  sowing  too  late,  which  comes  from  following  eastern  practice. 
Where  the  winter  is  quite  frosty,  fall  sowing  is  less  desirable,  but 
with  February  warmth  the  seed  should  be  in  the  ground.  Early 
sowing  enables  the  plants  to  secure  good  rooting,  and  with  that, 
growth  can  be  carried  later  in  the  dry  season.  Late  sowing  causes 
many  a  plant  to  dwindle  in  the  summer  heat  even  if  irrigation  is 
afforded.  It  must  also  be  remembered  that  many  plants  must  be 
diligently  cultivated  during  our  dry  season  which  thrive  without  it 
in  the  humid  summer  of  other  countries. 

MUSHROOMS. 

Field  growth  of  mushrooms  is  abundant  during  the  rainy  sea- 
son in  California — especially  do  the  fall  rains  bring  to  view  such 
great  quantities  of  them  that  they  can  be  easily  gathered  by  bushels. 
The  list  of  edible  mushrooms  in  California  includes  many  species 
which  afford  a  fine  field  for  mycological  epicures.  Recently  there 
has  arisen  quite  a  producing  interest  in  the  line  of  cellar  culture  of 
mushrooms  chiefly  by  foreigners,  and  their  methods  are  essentially 
the  same  that  are  practiced  elsewhere,  descriptions  of  which  are 
readily  available.  Good  detailed  publications  can  be  had  free  on 
application  to  the  Secretary  of  Agriculture  at  Washington  which 
will  give  the  inquirer  a  good  outline  of  arrangement  and  methods. 

An  outline  of  California  practice,  which  Mr.  Peter  Arndt  of 
Los  Angeles  found  successful,  is  as  follows : 

Mushrooms  can  be  grown  in  the  cellar  for  home  use  providing  the  cellar 
can  be  kept  at  an  even  temperature  with  plenty  of  light  and  air,  but  large 
and  profitable  crops  in  a  specially  built  house  or  in  an  old  out-building  prop- 
erly fitted  for  their  growth. 

Start  with  a  bed  10x10  feet — which  sounds  like  a  very  small  beginning 
indeed,  but  this  size  bed  should  produce  at  least  200  pounds  of  mushrooms. 

Secure  a  two-horse  load  of  horse  manure.  Wet  it  down  thoroughly,  and 
turn  it  over  daily  with  a  pitchfork.  As  soon  as  it  dries  out  pretty  well,  wet 
it  again,  and  repeat  the  turning  over  process.  Do  this  for  about  ten  days, 
and  then  transfer  the  compost  or  manure  to  the  beds  you  have  already 
prepared. 

Pack  the  manure  thoroughly  in  the  bed  to  a  thickness  of  about  seven 
inches,  and  let  it  stand.  Place  a  thermometer  in  the  bed,  to  a  depth  of  about 
three  inches ;  the  temperature  will  rise  to  about  75  or  80  degrees.  When  the 
temperature  reaches  this  point,  cut  your  spawn  into  pieces  about  two  inches 
square  and  set  into  the  beds  two  inches  below  the  surface  and  one  foot  apart. 
It  should  be  right  to  set  the  spawn  one  week  after  packing  the  bed. 

One  week  after  setting  the  spawn  cover  the  bed  to  a  depth  of  one-half 
inch  with  fine  sifted  garden  soil ;  after  that  sprinkle  the  bed  lightly  from  time 
to  time;  just  enough  to  keep  it  moist,  but  not  wet. 

The  mushrooms  will  start  to  appear  in  from  six  to  seven  weeks.  If  you 
can  keep  your  bed  at  a  temperature  of  about  60  degrees  you  will  get  fine 
results,  but  a  temperature  of  from  45  to  75  degrees  will  do,  and  with  proper 
sprinkling  will  produce  just  as  good  results  as  an  even  temperature  of  60 
degrees. 


280  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Beds  can  be  built  one  upon  the  other  leaving  about  two  feet  of  space 
between  each  bed.  Never  use  a  dark  room  or  house  for  mushrooms,  but  be 
sure  that  the  beds  are  protected  from  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun.  A  little 
artificial  heat  is  a  good  thing  in  the  winter  as  the  temperature  should  never 
be  allowed  to  go  above  70  degrees  or  below  40  degrees.  The  house  in  which 
the  beds  are  located  should  be  on  rather  high  ground — at  least  high  enough 
to  afford  good  drainage. 

MUSTARD. — Sinapis  sp. 

Mustard  is  a  grievous  weed  in  California,  especially  on  rich 
soils  with  moisture.  It  is  also  sometimes  very  profitable  as  grown 
for  a  seed  crop.  The  young  plant  is  sought  in  the  fields  as  a  salad 
and  improved  varieties  are  cultivated  to  some  extent.  Both  the 
white  and  the  large  cabbage-leaved  Chinese  kind  are  grown.  The 
culture  is  most  easy  and  simple,  the  treatment  being  the  same  as 
that  of  lettuce. 

NASTURTIUM. — Tropceolum. 

Nasturtiums  are  largely  grown  as  ornamental  plants,  but  the 
desirability  of  the  flowers  for  the  garnishing  of  salads  and  the  use 
of  the  flower  buds  and  green  seed  for  pickling  and  as  a  substitute 
for  capers  gives  the  plants  space  in  the  vegetable  garden.  They 
will  thrive  almost  without  care  or  watering  in  a  corner  of  the  gar- 
den, though  better  growth  will  show  their  appreciation  of  better 
treatment.  They  volunteer  freely  in  California  from  self-sown 
seed  and  continue  growth  all  through  the  frost-free  season.  They 
can  be  trained  on  fence  or  trellis  or  allowed  free  range  as  prostrate 
plants  if  space  permits;  or  dwarf  varieties  may  be  chosen,  as  they 
bloom  and  fruit  freely  with  less  extension.  They  require  little  more 
from  the  grower  than  the  covering  of  the  seed  in  soil  moist  enough 
for  germination. 

OKRA  OR  GUMBO. — Hibiscus  esculentus. 

This  popular  vegetable  of  the  South  is  not  largely  grown  in 
California  but  can  usually  be  had  from  market  gardeners.  It  re- 
quires generous  moisture  supply  to  thrive  and  does  not  take  at  all 
kindly  to  dry  heat.  Plants  may  be  started  in  the  winter  in  the  ways 
described  for  the  tomato,  and  the  planting  out  and  treatment  is  like 
that  of  eggplants ;  or  seed  may  be  sown  for  later  crop  in  the  open 
ground  in  drills,  the  plants  being  subsequently  thinned  to  about  a 
foot  apart.  The  plants  should  be  well  cultivated  and  kept  well  sup- 
plied with  water.  The  Long  Green  and  the  White  Velvet  are  the 
varieties  chiefly  grown. 

PARSLEY. — Apium  petroselinum. 

Parsley  can  be  readily  grown  in  California  by  the  use  of  a 
raised  bed  for  fall  sowing  for  winter  use  and  by  sowing  in  the  early 
spring  for  flat  culture  for  summer  use.  The  culture  is  like  that  for 
lettuce  except  that  the  plants  need  wider  spacing  and  extra  care  has 


ROSELLE  AND  SEA  KALE  281 

to  be  taken  to  protect  the  seed  from  drying  out,  as  it  is  long  in  ger- 
minating and  cannot  be  deeply  covered.  Good  firming  of  the 
ground  after  previous  deep  culture  is  desirable,  and  a  light  mulch 
will  help  to  retain  moisture  and  facilitate  watering  without  crusting 
the  ground. 

ROSELLE. — Hibiscus  subdariffa. 

This  interesting  plant,  resembling  in  its  growth  okra  or  gumbo, 
is  a  native  of  tropical  Asia  and  Africa,  and  has  been  widely  distrib- 
uted through  semi-tropical  countries,  where  it  has  been  found  to 
possess  considerable  resistance  to  drought  and  to  yield  very  accept- 
able food  products.  It  was  introduced  by  the  pioneers  probably 
from  Mexico,  and  was  distributed  by  the  State  University  about 
1895,  and  has  been  offered  by  California  seedsmen  for  many  years 
past.  The  plant  is  very  ornamental,  the  dark  red  stems  and  pods 
showing  through  the  rather  scant  dark  green  foliage.  The  flowers 
are  of  a  yellowish  white  with  a  dark  red  center,  two  inches  across 
and  lasting  only  an  hour  or  so  during  fair  weather.  The  juice  ex- 
tracted from  the  fleshy  calyces  or  husks  is  used  with  water  to  make 
an  acidulous  cooling  drink,  but  is  of  most  value  in  jelly-making. 
The  mucilaginous  properties  of  the  juice  render  the  "setting"  of  the 
jelly  certain,  with  a  reasonable  amount  of  cooking.  The  dark  cherry 
color  of  the  jelly  and  the  sprightly  acid  makes  it  nearly  if  not  equal 
to  currant  jelly.  Irrigated  plants  produce  a  more  highly  colored 
fruit,  but  come  into  bearing  later.  Unirrigated  plants  put  their 
strength  into  fruit,  but  the  irrigated  plants  start  lateral  branches, 
which  ultimately  produce  several  pods,  while  the  unirrigated  plants 
have  but  one  pod.  As  the  plant  will  endure  quite  heated  and  arid 
situations,  it  promises  to  be  of  much  value  for  jelly-making  where 
currants  do  not  thrive.  The  plant  should  be  given  ordinary  garden 
culture,  sowing  the  seed  when  danger  of  frost  is  over.  Enough  of 
the  pods  should  be  allowed  to  ripen  to  yield  seed  for  the  follow- 
ing year. 

SEA  KALE. — Crambe  maritima. 

This  plant  is  but  little  grown  in  California,  and  then  only  by 
professional  gardeners.  It  requires  long  use  of  the  ground  and  con- 
siderable attention  in  provision  for  blanching.  Plants  may  be  grown 
from  seed,  if  it  is  fresh,  as  tomato  plants  are  grown,  and  planted 
out  at  about  three  feet  apart  each  way.  Plants  can  also  be  grown 
from  root  cuttings  as  described  for  horse-radish,  placing  them  about 
three  feet  apart  each  way.  Plants  from  root  cuttings  should  be  al- 
lowed free  growth  for  at  least  one  year,  and  seedlings  twice  as  long. 
Preparation  for  use  consists  in  covering  the  plant  with  an  inverted 
pot  or  box  as  the  shoots  appear  and  allowing  it  to  make  its  growth 
in  the  dark,  thus  producing  blanched  and  tender  midribs.  In  cut- 
ting, the  knife  should  go  below  the  root  crown,  as  new  shoots  come 
readily  from  below.  Old  roots  are  productive  for  many  years  if 


282  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

allowed  to  grow  freely  but  not  to  form  seed  after  the  early  growth 
is  cut  for  use. 

SQUARE-POD  PEA. — Lotus  tetragonolobus. 

This  plant  has  recently  acquired  some  little  popularity  in  Cali- 
fornia as  a  table  vegetable.  It  will  make  a  good  winter  growth  in 
some  regions  of  the  state,  though  a  little  spring  heat  is  more  pleas- 
ing to  it.  Its  culture  is  like  that  of  garden  peas,  and,  if  sown  during 
the  rainy  season,  will  bear  an  abundance  of  edible  pods  for  early 
spring  use.  The  pods  should  be  gathered  when  young  and  tender 
and  are  cooked  like  string  beans. 

CHINESE  YAM. — Dioscoria  batatas. 

This  climbing  plant  grows  thriftily  in  California  and  sends  its 
fleshy  roots,  which  are  the  edible  part,  so  deep  that  it  seems  to 
contemplate  return  to  its  native  country.  To  get  the  roots  one  has 
to  dig  a  well  several  feet  deep,  because  they  are  so  brittle  that  they 
will  stand  no  pulling  whatever.  With  present  prices  of  labor  in  this 
country  it  is  not  profitable  to  go  into  deep  mining  to  get  starchy 
food,  and  the  plant  is  grown  only  as  a  curiosity. 

UDO. — Aralia  cor  data. 

This  Japanese  vegetable  was  introduced  in  1906  from  Japan 
by  Mr.  David  Fairchild,  Agricultural  Explorer  of  the  U.  S.  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  well  known  to  Californians  because  of  the 
many  visits  he  has  made  to  the  state  and  the  many  interesting  things 
he  has  brought  to  us  from  foreign  parts. 

The  edible  parts  of  udo  are  the  blanched  shoots,  which,  when 
properly  prepared,  are  said  to  be  delicious.  Mr.  Fairchild  gives  a 
detailed  account  of  the  growth  and  uses  of  the  plant  in  Bulletin  84 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  on  "Experiments  with  Udo,  the 
New  Japanese  Vegetable,"  but  states  that  he  is  not  certain  that 
udo  will  prove  superior  in  any  detail  to  vegetables  which  are  already 
under  cultivation  in  America.  Growth  of  udo  was  undertaken  for 
eastern  shipment  by  M.  E.  Meek,  near  Antioch,  Contra  Costa 
county.  Mr.  Meek  planted  several  acres,  and  Mr.  Fairchild  says 
it  is  the  first  commercial  field  of  it  in  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER     XXXVI. 

VEGETABLES  FOR  CANNING 
AND  DRYING. 

The  importance  of  vegetable  canning  in  California  is  noted  in 
the  opening  chapter  of  this  work.  At  the  present  time  large  areas 
of  vegetables  are  grown  to  fill  contracts  with  canners,  and  their 
purchases  in  open  market  are  a  great  relief  in  times  of  over-supply. 
It  is  reasonable  to  expect  that  this  important  canning  interest  will 
largely  increase  as  larger  distant  markets  can  be  commanded,  and 
as  the  growth  of  population  west  of  the  Missouri  river  demands 
greater  supplies.  California  has  marked  advantages  in  the  produc- 
tion of  canning  vegetables  at  minimum  cost  and  in  the  highest 
quality. 

As  this  treatise  is  prepared  for  the  information  of  vegetable 
growers,  it  seems  fitting  that  some  space  should  be  given  to  an  ex- 
position of  what  constitutes  excellence  in  a  vegetable  from  a  can- 
ner's  point  of  view,  although  it  is  impossible  to  enter  into  the  sub- 
ject as  fully  as  its  importance  warrants.* 

Asparagus. — The  trade  demands  large,  white,  tender  spears, 
with  the  tip  wholly  unopened  or  headed  out.  To  secure  the  shoots 
in  this  condition,  they  must  be  cut  very  closely,  which  is  done  by 
keeping  the  soil  in  fine,  deep  tilth,  and  cutting  low,  as  nearly  as 
practicable,  before  the  point  is  exposed  to  the  air.  A  few  hours' 
growth  in  the  sun  not  only  causes  the  head  to  color,  but  it  begins 
to  open  very  rapidly.  Other  information  has  been  given  in  the 
chapter  on  asparagus. 

String  Beans. — This  vegetable  has  not  been  canned  to  any  con- 
siderable extent  in  California,  inasmuch  as  the  fresh  vegetable  is 
on  the  market  such  a  large  portion  of  the  year,  that  there  is  less 
need  of  buying  it  in  cans.  The  first  canner  who  made  a  specialty 
of  string  beans  was  Mr.  H.  Wambold,  of  Blue  Lakes,  Lake  county, 
who  had  a  piece  of  land  that  seemed  to  be  better  adapted  to  the  pro- 
duction of  string  beans  than  any  other  vegetable,  and  this  land  was 
used  for  the  same  crop  for  twenty  consecutive  years.  The  yield 
from  the  commencement  being  so  large,  the  home  market  so  limited, 
and  being  too  remote  from  the  railroad  for  shipping  to  the  San 
Francisco  market,  he  was  forced,  as  a  last  resort,  to  pack  the  vege- 
table, and  by  strict  attention  to  every  detail  he  soon  built  such  a 
reputation  for  his  canned  beans  that  his  yearly  output  is  easily  dis- 
posed of  at  a  good  profit.  The  points  of  quality  in  a  string  bean  for 

*The  fullest  account  of  California's  commercial  canning  industries,  including  build- 
ings and  machinery,  methods,  materials,  etc.,  is  "The  Canning  of  Fruits  and  Vegetables." 
by  J.  B.  Zavalla.  John  Wiley  &  Sons,  New  York,  1916. 

[2831 


284  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

canning,  are  green  color,  tenderness,  and  it  must  be  as  nearly  as 
possible  stringless,  or,  at  any  rate,  a  variety  that  can  be  easily 
handled,  leaving  no  strings  on  them,  when  ordinary  care  is  used. 
Recently  the  business  established  by  Mr.  Wambold  has  been  greatly 
expanded  and  others  have  engaged  largely  in  it,  including  a  consider- 
able corporation  organized  to  operate  in  Lake  county. 

Peas. — The  desirable  points  in  this  vegetable  from  a  canner's 
point  of  view  are  that  they  shall  be  small,  green,  sweet,  and  tender. 
There  are  a  great  many  varieties  which  have  been  handled  success- 
fully in  this  state,  as  stated  in  the  chapter  on  the  Pea,  such  as  Pre- 
mium Gem,  Alaska.  This  vegetable  is  so  dependent  on  atmospheric 
moisture  that  a  crop  cannot  be  counted  upon  every  year  in  the  in- 
terior ;  for  lack  of  rains  at  the  time  when  the  plant  needed  moisture, 
and  apparently  irrigation  does  not  solve  the  difficulty,  as  the  pea 
seems  to  need  a  somewhat  moist  atmosphere.  There  has  been  re- 
cently in  operation  a  large  pea  growing  interest  in  eastern  Stanis- 
laus county,  operating  successfully. 

Tomatoes. — That  fruit  must  be  of  red  color,  firm,  few  seeds, 
and  smooth  skin,  that  is,  not  wrinkled.  A  medium  size  answers 
the  purpose  better  than  the  extremely  large  varieties.  The  tomato 
is  canned  largely  as  indicated  in  Chapter  I,  and  the  culture  of  the 
plant  is  fully  discussed  in  Chapter  XXXIII. 

Corn. — California  makes  no  record  in  canning  corn.  The 
special  corn  canneries  of  the  eastern  states  have  manufacturing  ad- 
vantages on  their  side  and  the  eastern  corn  grower  has  also  ad- 
vantages. California  has  a  longer  green-corn  season,  as  shown  in 
the  chapter  on  that  subject,  but  that  counts  more  for  the  table  than 
the  cannery. 

A  VARIED  PRODUCT. 

The  statistics  given  near  the  end  of  Chapter  I  show  which  vege- 
tables are  greatest  in  California  canning  but  they  do  not  indicate 
the  great  diversity  in  the  varieties  used.  The  following  are  included 
in  canners'  operations : 

Asparagus  Celery  Peppers  (Chili) 

Beans  (Lima)  Corn  Pimientoes 

Beans  (Baked)  Onions  Pumpkin  and  Squash 

Beans  (String)  Parsnips  Sauerkraut 

Beets  Peas  Spinach 

Cabbage  Potatoes  Tomatoes 

Carrots  Potatoes  (Sweet)  Turnips 

DRYING  VEGETABLES. 

Very  fine  samples  of  dried  vegetables  have  been  shown  from 
time  to  time  in  California,  and  the  output  of  a  considerable  product 
in  this  line  is  clearly  feasible  if  it  could  command  a  welcome  in  the 
markets.  This  fact  has  not  yet  been  demonstrated.  The  rush  to 
Alaskan  gold  fields  in  the  summer  of  1897  created  a  demand  for 
considerable  quantities  of  dried  vegetables,  chiefly  potatoes,  and  the 


DRYING  VEGETABLES  285 

drying  establishment  of  Penniman  Brothers,  of  San  Jose,  which 
was  opened  for  vegetable  drying  in  1889  and  subsequently  turned 
to  other  uses  for  lack  of  demand,  was  turned  again  to  vegetables  to 
supply  sharp  orders  for  Alaskan  shipment.  Onions,  potatoes,  string 
beans  and  carrots  were  dried  and  several  slicing  machines  were 
used.  A  drying  establishment  at  Azusa,  Los  Angeles  county,  was 
also  operated  for  vegetables  during  part  of  the  season,  and  others 
probably  participated.  Interest  in  commercial  vegetable  drying  re- 
vived during  the  European  war  and  a  large  establishment  was 
equipped  near  Stockton  for  drying  and  flouring  potatoes.  If  de- 
mand and  prices  should  favor  it  California  could  produce  large 
quantities  of  dried  vegetables  as  well  as  dried  fruits.  Experience 
thus  far  seems  to  favor  machine  evaporation  rather  than  sun  dry- 
ing, but  it  is  quite  probable  that  sun  heat  may  be  found  available, 
at  least  for  part  of  the  work,  when  further  attention  is  given  to  the 
matter.  The  commercial  development  of  vegetable  drying  is,  how- 
ever, very  slow  as  compared  with  the  production  of  fresh  and 
canned  vegetables  for  distant  shipment. 

For  home  use  the  drying  of  many  kinds  of  vegetables  is  very 
desirable.  During  1917  under  the  nation-wide  movement  for  food 
conservation  there  was  much  effort  expended  to  preparing  detailed 
advice  and  instruction  concerning  vegetable  drying  and  many  pub- 
lications resulted,  describing  many  improvements  in  methods.  Such 
publications  can  be  had  free  of  cost  from  the  U.  S.  Department  of 
Agriculture  at  Washington,  D.  C,  and  from  the  University  of  Cal- 
ifornia Experiment  Station  at  Berkeley,  to  which  the  reader  is 
referred.  These  sources  furnish  all  information  needed  for  the 
beginner,  who  will  find  out,  however,  that  he  has  much  to  learn 
also  from  his  own  experience. 

For  the  convenience  of  the  reader  the  following  outlines  of 
methods  of  both  canning  and  drying  vegetables  with  ordinary  home 
appliances  are  compiled  from  publications  of  the  University  of  Cal- 
ifornia by  Professor  W.  V.  Cruess : 

PRACTICAL  DETAILS   OF   CANNING  VEGETABLES. 

1.  Make  a  false  bottom  to  fit  inside  an  ordinary  stove  wash- 
boiler.     This  bottom  may  be  a  piece  of  heavy  wire  netting  or  a 
wooden  grating. 

2.  Prepare  the  vegetables  as  for  cooking  and  in  convenient 
form  for  placing  in  the  cans.     Root  vegetables  should  be  brushed 
clean,  peeled  and  cut  into  convenient  slices  or  pieces.    Green  beans 
should  have  their  strings  removed  and  then  be  cut  into  short  lengths. 
Peas  should  be  shelled.     Corn  should  be  cut  off  the  cob.     Peppers 
should  be  scalded  and  the  skin  removed.    Squash  should  be  peeled, 
the  seeds  removed,  and  the  flesh  cut  up  into  small  pieces.    Aspara- 
gus should  be  blanched  or  parboiled  by  dipping  into  boiling  water 
for  about  three  minutes  immediately  before  canning.     Artichokes 


286  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

should  have  some  of  the  outside  bracts  removed  and  the  hardtip 
cut  off  with  a  sharp  knife. 

3.  The  prepared  vegetables  are  packed  tight  into  the  jars  or 
cans  which  are  then  completely  filled  with  brine  containing  three 
ounces  of  salt  to  a  gallon  of  water.    Before  using,  this  brine  should 
be  acidified  with  lemon  juice  or  vinegar.    For  corn  ten  fluid  ounces 
(about  one  and  one-half  teacups)  of  lemon  juice  should  be  used  to 
a  gallon  of  brine,  for  beans  and  peas  seven  fluid  ounces  (about  one 
teacup),  and  for  other  vegetables  five  fluid  ounces   (about  three- 
fourths  of  a  teacup).    If  ordinary  vinegar  is  used  about  twice  these 
quantities  are  necessary.     The  acidified  brine  should  be  poured  hot 
on  to  the  vegetables. 

4.  The  filled  cans  and  jars  are  then  placed,  with  their  covers  in 
place  but  loose,  on  the  false  bottom  of  the  boiler.    Hot  water  is  then 
poured  into  the  boiler  until  it  reaches  to  about  three-fourths  of  the 
height  of  the  jars.    A  second  tier  may  be  placed  on  a  rack  resting 
on  the  first  tier,  to  be  cooked  in  the  steam. 

5.  The  boiler  is  then  covered  and  heated  to  boiling,  for  one 
hour  for  most  vegetables.     Pumpkins,  beans  and  corn  require  two 
hours. 

6.  After  this  heating  remove  and  seal  quickly,  while  still  boil- 
ing hot,  by  screwing  down  the  tops  of  the  jars  or  applying  the  wax 
to  the  cans. 

This  is  a  thoroughly  safe  and  satisfactory  way  of  preserving 
vegetables.  With  some  vegetables  the  acid  may  be  omitted,  but  in 
this  case  two  or  three  repeated  heatings  are  necessary  and  this  low- 
ers the  quality  of  the  food  to  some  extent.  Reheating  is  not  prac- 
ticable with  wax-top  cans. 

The  foregoing  is  called  the  "cold-pack"  method  because  the 
material  is  put  in  the  cans  before  cooking.  In  the  "hot-pack" 
method  the  prepared  material  is  first  cooked  with  the  necessary 
water  or  brine  in  an  open  kettle  and  poured  hot  in  the  cans  and 
sealed  immediately.  In  most  cases  this  is  sufficient  for  preservation, 
but  an  additional  heating  after  sealing  is  often  necessary. 

With  the  cold-pack  method  the  canned  material  retains  its  form 
better,  but  more  liquid  is  needed.  The  hot-pack  method  is  more 
economical  of  heat  and  more  solid  material  can  be  packed  in  the  can. 

TOMATO  PASTE. 

Canned  tomatoes  contain  about  95  per  cent  water.  If  evap- 
orated to  about  one-eighth  or  one-tenth  of  the  original  volume  the 
concentrated  product  will  contain  all  the  food  value,  flavor  and 
color  of  the  fresh  tomatoes. 

The  following  method  of  manufacture  is  applicable  to  house- 
hold conditions:  Boil  the  tomatoes  until  soft.  Crush  thoroughly 
and  pass  through  a  fine  sieve  or  screen  to  take  out  the  skins  and 
woody  portions  of  the  pulp.  Place  the  pulp  and  juice  which  pass 


PRESERVATION  WITH  SALT  287 

the  screen  in  a  shallow  pan  and  boil  down  gently  over  a  slow  fire  to 
a  thick  consistency.  As  the  water  evaporates  the  pulp  will  thicken 
and  become  liable  to  scorching.  Before  this  occurs,  place  the  pan 
at  the  back  of  the  stove  where  the  heat  is  not  sufficient  to  cause  the 
paste  to  stick  to  the  bottom  of  the  pan.  Allow  the  pulp  to  evaporate 
under  these  conditions  very  slowly  until  it  has  become  very  thick 
and  pasty.  While  still  hot  add  about  2  ozs.  of  salt  to  a  gallon  of 
the  paste  and  pack  into  hot  scalded  jars.  The  filled  jars  should  be 
sterilized  in  a  washboiler  sterilizer  for  half  an  hour  to  an  hour,  as 
desired  for  canning.  The  jars  should  then  be  sealed. 

The  tomato  paste  can  be  used  in  cooking  just  as  fresh  tomatoes 
are,  as  a  flavoring  for  various  dishes,  or  diluted  and  used  as  soup 
stock,  etc. 

A  flavored  tomato  paste  is  made  by  Mrs.  Jessica  Hazzard,  of 
Los  Angeles :  To  one  gallon  of  tomato  juice  and  pulp  prepared  as 
above,  add  two  sliced  onions,  two  buttons  of  garlic,  one  bay  leaf, 
and  two  or  three  Chili  peppers.  Boil  down  over  a  slow  fire  until  it 
thickens  and  then  concentrate  over  a  steam  bath  or  on  the  back  of 
the  stove  to  a  thick  paste.  Beat  in  olive  oil  and  salt  to  taste.  Store 
in  jars  or  cans.  It  will  keep  fairly  well  without  sterilizing,  but  may 
become  moldy  on  top.  If  sterilized  it  will  keep  perfectly. 

This  method  of  preserving  tomatoes  will  save  nearly  nine- 
tenths  of  the  jars  usually  used  for  tomatoes.  It  is  simple  and  ef- 
fective. The  main  danger  to  be  avoided  is  that  of  scorching  the 
product  during  evaporation. 

PRESERVATION  BY  SALT  AND  SOURING. 

Vegetables  can  be  preserved  more  cheaply  than  in  cans  or  jars 
and  more  simply,  for  household  use,  than  by  drying,  by  making  use 
of  the  preservative  qualities  of  salt  and  of  lactic  acid. 

1.  Preservation   in   Brine. — The   vegetables   are   washed   and 
sliced.     They  are  then  placed  in  a  crock  or  barrel  or  other  wooden 
vessel  containing  a  strong  brine.    Metal  vessels  cannot  be  used.    The 
brine  is  made  with  2^2  to  3  pounds  of  salt  to  one  gallon  of  water. 
The  vegetables  must  be  kept  submerged  by  means  of  a  well-fitting 
wooden  cover  weighted  with  a  stone  or  similar  object  that  will  not 
be  acted  on  by  the  brine. 

2.  Preservation   in   Salt. — Prepare    the    vegetables    as    above. 
Weigh  and  take  one  pound  of  salt  for  each  two  pounds  of  prepared 
vegetables.    A  layer  of  salt  is  first  placed  on  the  bottom  of  a  crock 
or  barrel  and  then  a  layer  of  vegetables.     Similar  layers  are  alter- 
nated until  the  vessel  is  full,  finishing  with  a  good  layer  of  salt    A 
wooden  cover  is  then  applied  and  weighted.     After  a  few   days 
there  will  be  a  considerable  shrinkage  in  volume  and  the  vessel  can 
then  be  filled  with  more  layers  and  weighted  as  before. 

These  methods  are  suitable  for  most  root  vegetables,  string 
beans,  cabbage  and  cucumbers. 


288  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

3.  Preservation  by  Fermentation. — Cabbage,  string  beans, 
beets,  and  cucumbers  can  be  preserved  by  covering  with  a  weak 
brine  and  allowing  them  to  undergo  fermentation  out  of  contact 
with  the  air. 

The  prepared  vegetables  are  mixed  with  salt  at  the  rate  of  one- 
quarter  to  one-half  of  a  pound  of  salt  to  ten  pounds  of  vegetables 
and  tightly  packed  in  a  deep  crock  or  barrel  and  weighted  down. 
The  salt  and  pressure  force  out  the  juice  of  the  vegetables  and  they 
decrease  in  volume  one-third  to  one-half.  After  a  day  or  two  more 
vegetables  and  salt  may  be  added  and  the  weight  replaced. 

If  kept  in  a  warm  room  (65  to  70  degrees  F.)  a  gaseous  fer- 
mentation commences  and  continues  for  several  weeks.  This  pro- 
duces lactic  acid,  which  preserves  the  vegetables.  When  the  fer- 
mentation is  over  and  the  vegetables  taste  a  little  sour  the  liquid  is 
drawn  off  and  replaced  with  a  brine  containing  one-half  of  a  pound 
of  salt  to  one  gallon  of  water.  In  this  they  will  keep  in  good  con- 
dition for  a  long  time  if  well  protected  from  the  air. 

The  large  quantities  of  salt  used  in  these  methods  must  be  re- 
moved by  soaking  in  fresh  water  ("freshening")  before  cooking. 

DRYING  ROOT  VEGETABLES. 

The  method  described  below  is  suitable  for  turnips,  carrots, 
beets,  potatoes  and  other  similar  root  vegetables. 

1.  Peel  or  scrape  the  roots  and  cut  into  slices  %  to  ^  of  an 
inch  thick. 

2.  Spread  in  a  single  layer  on  wooden  trays.    Those  used  for 
fruit  or  raisin  drying  are  good.     Suitable  light  trays  can  be  made 
from  pine  shakes  or  even  from  old  boxes.     They  should  be  about 
2  ft.  X  3  ft.  with  a  2-in.  cleat  on  each  end  and  a  ^-in.  strip  on  each 
side. 

3.  Expose  the  sliced  vegetables  on  the  trays  to  the  fumes  of 
burning  sulfur.     An  ordinary  "sulfur  box"  used  in  drying  fruits 
can  be  used. 

A  simple  sulfur  box  can  be  made  of  a  large  dry  goods  box  or  of 
a  wooden  frame  covered  with  ordinary  tar  paper  to  make  it  fairly 
air-tight.  It  should  be  large  enough  to  hold  six  to  twelve  stacked 
trays.  It  should  be  open  at  the  bottom  and  if  large  have  a  door  at 
one  side  for  the  insertion  of  the  trays.  If  small  it  may  be  simply 
put  over  the  stacks  of  trays.  It  is  placed  on  the  ground  with  the 
open  side  down  over  a  hole  at  one  end  of  which  the  sulfur  is  burned. 
It  should  be  long  enough  so  that  the  trays  do  not  come  directly  over 
the  sulfur  hole  at  the  end. 

As  soon  as  the  box  is  filled  with  trays  of  the  sliced  vegetables, 
the  sulfur,  in  a  shallow  iron  or  earthenware  pan,  is  placed  in  the 
hole  and  ignited.  The  door  of  the  box  is  then  closed.  In  from  ten 
to  twenty  minutes  the  sulfuring  is  complete.  A  handful  of  sulfur 
is  sufficient  for  a  large  box. 


DRYING  VEGETABLES  289 

Vegetables  can  be  dried  without  sulfuring,  but  the  color,  flavor 
and  keeping  qualities  are  less  perfect  and  the  drying  slower.  Pota- 
toes are  particularly  improved  by  sulfuring. 

4.  Place  the  trays  in  the  sun  until  the  vegetables  are  dry.  This 
will  require  two  to  five  days  in  good  weather. 

Drying  Potatoes. — Select  sound,  well  matured  potatoes. 

Method  A :  Peel  and  cut  into  pieces  about  one-fourth  to  three- 
eighths  of  an  inch  thick.  Spread  on  trays  and  expose  to  the  fumes 
of  burning  sulfur  for  twenty  minutes.  Place  the  trays  in  the  sun 
until  the  potatoes  are  dry.  If  uncooked  potatoes  are  dried  without 
previous  sulfuring  the  product  will  be  dark  in  color. 

Method  B :  Boil  or  steam  the  potatoes  until  they  are  nearly 
cooked.  Peel  and  cut  in  slices  or  run  through  a  meat  chopper  and 
dry  on  trays  in  the  sun. 

To  use  potatoes  dried  without  cooking  soak  six  to  eight  hours, 
or  overnight,  using  eight  pints  of  water  to  each  pound  of  potatoes. 
Cook  them  in  the  usual  way.  If  the  potatoes  were  boiled  before 
drying,  they  may  be  cooked  in  water  or  milk  without  previous 
soaking. 

Sweet  Potatoes. — Use  sound  mature  potatoes. 

Method  A:  Wash  and  boil  until  nearly  cooked.  Peel  and  cut 
in  slices  or  run  through  a  meat  chopper.  Spread  on  trays  and  dry 
in  the  sun. 

Method  B:  Wash,  peel,  slice,  spread  on  trays  and  dry.  The 
color  will  be  lighter  if  the  sliced  potatoes  are  dipped  in  salt  water 
before  drying. 

DRYING  TOP  VEGETABLES. 

Tomatoes,  peas,  corn,  squash  and  cabbage  may  be  successfully 
sun-dried  on  trays  in  California.  They  may  be  kept  indefinitely  in 
the  dry  state  and  when  properly  cooked  they  are  wholesome,  nutri- 
tious, and  can  be  made  very  palatable. 

Peas. — Select  peas  at  the  best  stage  for  cooking  fresh.  If  too 
ripe  they  will  taste  like  ordinary  split  peas  when  dried,  and  if  un- 
ripe they  will  dry  down  too  much.  Shell  and  spread  on  trays.  If 
wooden  trays  are  not  available,  paper,  canvas  or  cloth  may  be  used. 
Expose  to  the  sun  until  dry.  Unless  thoroughly  dry  they  will  mold 
when  stored.  At  the  proper  stage  of  ripeness  it  requires  about  10 
pounds  of  unshelled  or  Zl/2  pounds  of  shelled  peas  to  make  a  pound 
of  dry  peas. 

Corn. — The  corn  should  not  be  too  ripe.  It  should  be  tender 
and  sweet.  Remove  the  husks,  place  the  corn  on  the  cob  in  a  wire 
basket  or  sheet  of  cheesecloth  and  immerse  in  boiling  water  for 
about  three  to  five  minutes.  Chill  immediately  in  cold  water  and 
cut  the  corn  from  the  cob.  Spread  on  trays  in  the  sun  and  dry. 

Tomatoes. — Bright  sunlight  and  dry  weather  are  essential  for 
sun-drying  tomatoes.  Cut  the  tomatoes  %  in  two  flat-wise  or  large 


290  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

fruit  may  be  cut  into  thick  slices.  Spread  on  trays  and  dry  in  the 
sun.  It  may  be  necessary  to  turn  several  times  to  prevent  molding. 
Dry  until  tough  and  leathery  in  texture.  They  are  then  packed 
tight  in  barrels  or  boxes.  A  little  salt  should  be  sprinkled  between 
the  layers. 

Pumpkin  and  Squash. — Cut  into  strips  and  peel.  Cut  the  strips 
into  slices  about  one-fourth  of  an  inch  thick.  Spread  on  trays 
and  dry. 

Cabbage. — Select  well  developed  heads.  Remove  the  outer 
leaves  and  cut  into  strips  about  one-fourth  or  one-half  of  an  inch 
thick.  Spread  loosely  on  trays  and  dry  in  the  sun.  About  eighteen 
pounds  of  fresh  is  required  to  give  one  pound  of  dry  cabbage. 

Peppers. — Commercial  drying  of  peppers  is  outlined  on  page 
237.  Stringing  in  the  sun  is  still  a  good  method  for  home  use. 

STORING  AND  COOKING  DRIED  VEGETABLES. 

Dried  vegetables  may  be  kept  in  glass  or  stone  jars,  closed  bins 
or  heavy  sacks  or  otherwise  protected  from  insects.  With  small 
quantities  it  is  a  good  plan  to  wrap  in  bundles  with  strong  paper 
and  store  the  bundles  in  cloth  sacks.  To  guard  against  insects 
hatching  from  eggs  deposited  during  the  drying,  the  vegetables 
should  be  placed  in  shallow  pans  and  put  in  a  moderately  hot  oven 
for  a  few  minutes  before  storing.  The  same  treatment  can  be  used 
later  with  vegetables  found  to  be  infested  after  putting  away.  An- 
other way  to  destroy  insect  life  is  to  put  the  material  in  a  tight 
covered  box  and  allowing  bi-sulfid  of  carbon  to  evaporate  from  a 
saucer  placed  on  top  just  below  the  box  cover.  Half  a  cupful  is 
enough  for  a  2  ft.  X  4  ft.  X  3  ft.  This  vapor  is  explosive  and  should 
be  used  in  the  open  air  and  away  from  lights.  Its  offensive  smell 
will  soon  dissipate  by  exposure  to  the  air  after  treatment  and  no 
injury  be  done  to  flavors. 

Cooking  Dried  Vegetables. — As  a  rule  dried  vegetables  must 
be  soaked  in  cold  water  for  24  hours  before  being  cooked.  A  pinch 
of  carbonate  of  soda  added  to  the  water  makes  them  more  tender. 
They  can  be  used  as  fresh  vegetables,  but  are  particularly  suitable 
for  soups  and  stews. 

Special  suggestions  are  as  follows:  Corn  should  be  soaked 
two  to  four  hours,  using  two  cups  of  water  to  one  cup  of  corn. 
Peas  should  be  soaked  about  twenty-four  hours  before  cooking. 
Dried  tomatoes  will  require  at  least  twenty-four  hours  soaking  or 
longer  to  soften  and  remove  the  excess  of  salt.  To  cook  dried 
pumpkin  or  squash,  soak  over  night  in  ten  pints  of  water  to  one 
pound  of  dried  material.  They  can  then  be  used  for  pies,  etc.,  in 
the  same  way  as  the  fresh  vegetables.  To  cook  dried  cabbage,,  add 
seven  cupfuls  of  water  to  one  heaping  cupful.  Bring  slowly  to  a 
boil  in  an  open  kettle.  Boil  thirty  minutes.  Add  salt  to  taste.  This 
may  be  used  for  creaming,  etc. 


COOKING  DRIED  VEGETABLES  291 

After  soaking,  dried  vegetables  are  seasoned  and  cooked  in 
ordinary  ways.  The  drying  process  results  in  some  loss  of  flavor 
and  the  dried  products,  therefore,  require  more  seasoning  than 
fresh  vegetables. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 
SEED  GROWING  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

The  commercial  production  of  garden  seeds  in  California  was 
entered  upon  by  the  first  American  vegetable  growers  as  a  branch 
of  their  business.  The  difficulty  of  obtaining  supplies  from  the  East 
and  the  almost  fabulous  prices  which  seeds  commanded,  acted  as  a 
strong  incentive  to  local  production.  The  inventory  of  Mr.  John  Mv 
Horner's  productions  at  Alvarado  in  1851  included  eleven  hundred  rv 
pounds  of  garden  seeds — onions,  beets  and  cabbage.  Mr.  A.  P. 
Smith  at  Sacramento  had  twenty  acres  devoted  to  seed  growing  in 
1857,  and  the  following  record  shows  that  he  had  been  doing  a  good 
business  for  some  time  before  that  date : 

To  his  vegetable  seed  department  Mr.  Smith  turned  his  attention  at  an 
early  day,  and  has  pursued  it  till  now  he  devotes  to  it  twenty  acres  of  ground 
and  the  time  of  several  laborers,  and  from  it  reaps  a  merited  reward.  His 
crop  of  seeds  for  the  last  four  years  has  reached  from  three  to  four  thousand 
pounds  per  annum,  which  up  to  1858  averaged  about  three  dollars  per  pound. 
They  now  sell  for  less.1 

Another  pioneer  seed  grower  was  Mr.  D.  L.  Perkins,  of  Ala- 
meda.  The  record  states  that  he  "served  a  thorough  apprenticeship 
in  the  business  at  the  East  and  is  quite  at  home  in  all  general  ope- 
rations connected  with  his  business."  At  the  state  fair  in  1860 
premiums  for  garden  seeds  were  awarded  to  A.  P.  Smith,  of  Sacra- 
mento, and  to  D.  L.  Perkins,  of  Alameda.  The  committee  reported 
both  exhibits  very  meritorious  and  indulged  in  the  prophecy  that 
"the  time  is  at  hand  when  our  gardeners  will  be  saved  the  time, 
trouble  and  expense  of  looking  abroad  for  their  seeds." 

It  would  seem  that  Mr.  Perkins  must  be  credited  with  a  broader 
conception  of  the  opportunity  of  California  in  seed  growing  than 
was  known  to  the  awarding  committee.  With  them  the  problem 
was  local  supply.  Mr.  Perkins  looked  beyond  that.  In  his  state- 
ment submitted  with  a  claim  for  a  gold  medal  at  the  state  fair  of 
1867  he  uses  these  significant  words : 

For  the  past  ten  years  all  my  time  has  been  given  to  the  raising  of  seeds 
.  .  .  striving  to  get  the  best  seeds  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  During 
the  past  three  years  I  have  sent  collections  of  seeds  to  be  tested  at  the  East 
and  the  results  in  size  and  quality  over  the  same  varieties  grown  at  the  East 
have  been  so  marked  that  several  parties  have  ordered  from  me,  thus  show- 
ing that  California  can  compete  with  the  world  for  garden  seeds.  There  is 
no  State  in  the  Union  so  well  adapted  to  the  raising  of  seeds  as  California. 
During  five  years  past  I  have  sent  samples  of  my  product  to  Japan,  China, 
Sandwich  Islands,  Mexico,  and  to  Europe.2 

1  Rep.  Cal.  Agr.  Society,  1858,  p.  233. 

2  Condensed  from  Rep.  Cal.  Agr.  Society,  1866-7,  pp.  228  and  229. 


HISTORY  OF  SEED  GROWING  293 

Probably  this  statement  of  Mr.  Perkins  was  the  first  formal 
prophecy  of  the  eminence  which  California  would  ere  long  com- 
mand in  the  seed  markets  of  the  world.  It  found  an  echo  in  the 
words  of  Peter  Henderson,  the  veteran  seedsman  and  florist,  who 
wrote  in  1882 :  "California  will,  I  am  certain,  fifty  years  from  now, 
grow  seeds  for  the  world.  It  has  all  the  conditions  of  soil  and  cli- 
mate for  seed  growing."  The  progress  attained  during  the  last  few 
years  justifies  Mr.  Perkins'  enthusiastic  declaration  and  indicates 
that  Mr.  Henderson's  time  limit  was  certainly  conservative  and  safe, 
for  in  certain  lines  surely  such  a  position  has  already  been  realized 
and  was  reached  in  less  than  a  third  of  his  period. 

A  New  Start. — Mr.  Perkins  did  not  continue  to  the  demonstra- 
tion of  his  problem.  His  intention  was  diverted  to  other  matters, 
and  it  remained  for  others  to  actually  work  the  mine  of  which  he 
was  only  the  prospector.  Theirs  have  been  the  labors  and  the  bur- 
dens, and  it  is  gratifying  to  add  that,  through  carrying  them  intelli- 
gently and  devotedly,  they  have  attained  reward  and  have,  in  part 
at  least,  realized  for  the  state  the  prominence  which  was  prophe- 
sied by  the  pioneers. 

In  1875  Mr.  R.  W.  Wilson,  previously  a  seed  grower  at  Ro- 
chester, New  York,  began  seed  growing  near  Santa  Clara,  and  is 
regarded  as  the  pioneer  of  the  present  era  of  California  seed  grow- 
ing. He  began  on  about  fifty  acres  of  land,  growing  principally 
onion,  lettuce,  carrot,  and  beet  seed.  Two  years  later  he  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Kellogg  &  Morse,  who  continued  together,  increasing  the 
dimensions  of  their  business  until  1889,  when  Mr.  Kellogg  retired 
and  C.  C.  Morse  &  Co.  became  the  successors  to  the  business.  They 
have  extended  and  developed  their  enterprise  to  dimensions  which 
few  Californians  realize,  and  are  not  only  leaders  in  seed  growing, 
but  in  the  seed  trade  as  well.  Aside  from  this  large  firm  there  are 
other  producers  who  have  achieved  most  creditable  results  in  the 
development  of  specialties  which  have  given  them  wide  reputations 
and  contributed  to  the  fame  of  the  state  in  advanced  horticulture. 

It  will  be  impossible  to  adequately  describe  California  seed 
growing  in  a  single  chapter.  Only  a  few  salient  facts  can  be 
mentioned. 

Onion  Seed. — This  seed  has  held  the  leading  place  in  Califor- 
nia seed  growing  from  the  very  beginning — at  first  for  local  use, 
afterward  for  distant  sale.  In  spite  of  the  eastern  plaudits  which 
Mr.  Perkins  won  for  his  seed,  as  already  stated,  it  was  a  difficult 
undertaking  to  induce  eastern  dealers  to  use  it  largely  at  first.  When 
Mr.  Wilson  offered  his  first  crop  of  onion  seed  in  the  East,  scarcely 
anyone  would  touch  it  and  some  who  did,  claimed  afterward  that 
the  bulbs  grown  from  it  were  soft,  would  not  keep  and  were  inferior. 
The  next  year  Mr.  Wilson  sent  quite  a  quantity  of  the  seed  to  a 
dozen  or  more  of  the  leading  dealers  who  planted  it  beside  eastern 
seed.  In  the  fall  Mr.  Wilson  went  East  and  personally  inspected 
the  crops,  compared  the  bulbs  and  was  able  to  show  that  in  every 


294  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

instance  California  seed  produced  as  good  onions  as  that  they  had 
been  using  before.  From  that  time  on  California  onion  seed  has 
constantly  grown  in  favor,  and  this  state  has  become  almost  the 
only  source  of  supplies,  though  there  are  places  in  Connecticut  and 
Pennsylvania  where  a  considerable  amount  is  still  grown.  This 
popularity  secured  a  price  which  was  quite  profitable,  and  many 
grew  onion  seed — too  many  in  fact,  for  there  was  in  some  years  a 
disastrous  overproduction.  Since  then,  however,  better  selection 
and  culture  have  enabled  favoring  natural  conditions  to  produce  dis- 
tinctive results.  In  1915  Mr.  Lester  A.  Morse  wrote  as  follows: 

Onion  seed  as  produced  in  California  has  met  and  overcome  a  very 
decided  and  persistent  prejudice.  As  a  rule  the  onion  reproduces  itself  better 
in  its  immediate  environment  and  Eastern  grown  or  foreign  grown  onion 
seed  is  very  likely  to  run  largely,  if  not  entirely,  to  scallions  or  stiff-necks 
when  used  here.  The  same  result  is  likely  with  the  onion  seed  taken  from 
any  one  climate  to  another,  but  California  seed  will  make  a  well  ripened, 
merchantable  bulb  in  any  locality  where  onions  are  grown.  It  is  remarkable 
to  be  able  to  pick  out  a  plot  of  onions  grown  from  California  seed  in  Eng- 
land, or  France,  or  Germany,  and  find  them  invariably  all  uniformly  ripe  and 
well  matured,  free  from  stiff-necks,  and  all  varieties  usually  ripen  earlier  than 
the  same  variety  from  other  sources. 

Lettuce. — Lettuce  seed  is  a  leading  crop  with  California  seed 
growers.  The  climate  of  some  parts  of  the  coast  valleys  is  admir- 
ably adapted  to  it.  It  requires  careful,  painstaking  work  to  main- 
tain choice  varieties.  Unfortunately,  the  plant  seeds  most  freely 
in  a  semi-wild  condition  and  some  of  the  less  critical  growers  have 
allowed  it  to  grow  in  this  way,  thereby  increasing  yield  and  profit. 
The  careful  grower  proceeds  with  cultivation  fitted  to  retain  the 
characters  of  the  variety,  thins  out  the  plants  so  that  each  will  form 
a  perfect  head  and  be  true  to  the  type,  and  then  the  heading  or  cab- 
bage varieties  must  have  the  head  cut  open  with  a  knife  to  allow 
the  seed  stem  to  come  through ;  otherwise  the  plant  will  rot  without 
running  to  seed.  This  method  of  growing  is  not  conducive  to  a 
large  seed  product,  but  it  improves  the  strain,  while  the  work  of  the 
careless  grower  tends  to  reversion. 

California  lettuce  seed  is  now  recognized  to  be  superior.  We 
have  the  best  possible  climate  for  developing,  curing,  threshing,  and 
cleaning  seed.  Lettuce  requires  a  semi-arid  climate  for  ripening, 
and  here  it  receives  full  share  of  dry  summer  weather,  so  that  the 
sample  of  seed  is  immeasurably  superior  to  foreign  grown.  It  is 
quite  impossible  to  grow  lettuce  seed  in  countries  where  summer 
rains  are  frequent. 

Other  Plants. — But  for  other  seeds  than  onion  and  lettuce  Cali- 
fornia seed  farms  are  also  famous  all  over  the  world  and  practically 
all  seed  dealers  know  us,  but  what  are  commonly  known  as  Cali- 
fornia vegetable  seeds  are  carrot,  celery,  endive,  leek,  lettuce,  onion, 
parsley,  parsnip,  radish,  salsify,  and  tomato.  All  of  these  items  are' 
produced  on  a  large  scale,  and  the  California  crops  practically  set 
the  growers'  prices  for  the  world.  All  are  grown  in  great  variety 
and  all  are  sold  to  dealers  everywhere. 


GROWING  FLOWER  SEEDS  295 

Peas,  beans,  except  Limas,  and  vine  seeds  have  not  reached  large 
production  because  of  competition  with  growers  in  the  middle- 
western  states.  Eggplant,  in  spite  of  the  excellence  of  the  vegetable 
as  noted  in  an 'earlier  chapter,  has  disappointed  the  seed  growers, 
and  okra  has  done  likewise.  Turnip  and  Brussels  sprouts  have  not 
prospered  as  seed  crops,  while  cabbage  does  excellently.  Cauli- 
flower also  seeds  well  some  years,  but  in  others  it  completely  fails, 
which  renders  its  average  below  the  profit  line.  Lima  beans  for 
seed  have  failed,  except  in  the  southern  coast  district  described  in 
the  chapter  on  beans,  but  in  that  district  growers  have  enjoyed  some 
very  profitable  contracts  with  eastern  dealers. 

Until  about  1910  California  grown  corn  was  not  supposed  to 
produce  good  seed,  and  most  of  the  seed  used  was  imported  from 
the  Middle  West.  It  was  found  that  the  reason  for  failure  was 
simply  lack  of  knowledge.  When  the  same  intelligence  was  ap- 
plied in  selection,  cultivation,  and  choice  of  location  as  is  applied 
to  other  kinds  of  seeds,  it  was  found  that  our  California  grown 
corn  seed  does  better  on  the  Pacific  Coast  than  eastern  grown,  and 
the  future  of  corn  growing  for  seed  is  bound  to  show  a  greatly  ex- 
panding acreage. 

Flower  Seeds. — Various  flowers  have  been  grown  for  seed,  in 
fact,  a  great  assortment  of  varieties,  and,  while  nearly  all  kinds 
flourish,  there  is  so  much  hand  work  and  close  application  neces- 
sary, that  we  have  not  been  able  to  successfully  compete  with 
Europe  on  most  things.  Sweet  peas,  nasturtiums,  cosmos,  verbenas, 
petunias,  and  asters  are  quite  successfully  grown,  and  the  seed  trade 
now  looks  to  California  for  most  of  the  sweet  peas  and  a  great 
many  of  the  nasturtiums.  Southern  California  has  several  very 
prominent  growers  of  fine  double  petunias  and  other  plants.  Of 
standard  varieties  of  candytuft,  cosmos,  stocks,  asters,  poppy,  etc., 
there  were  three  growers  in  southern  California  in  1915  who 
cropped  fully  five  hundred  acres. 

The  rapid  advance  of  the  California  sweet  pea  seed  in  popu- 
larity is  most  marvelous.  A  beginning  was  made  in  this  line  in  a 
moderate  way  about  1885,  when  there  were  not  over  a  dozen  varie- 
ties listed.  At  first  about  a  quarter  of  an  acre  was  grown,  but  since 
1912  the  total  acreage  has  been  about  2500  acres  annually.  So  im- 
portant a  factor  have  the  California  sweet  pea  growers  become  to 
the  seed  trade  that  some  dealers  come  from  the  East  annually  to 
inspect  the  growing  crops  and  to  hunt  for  novelties  in  the  sweet 
pea  line.  One  will  know  California  sweet  pea  wherever  grown  by 
its  wonderful  vigor  and  the  flowers  are  now  grown  from  California 
seed  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 

Sweet  peas  are  planted  in  November  and  December  to  secure 
the  flowers  at  their  very  best  about  the  middle  of  May.  They  grow 
slowly  throughout  the  winter,  but  just  as  soon  as  the  days  lengthen 
and  the  weather  grows  warm,  they  fairly  spring  into  bloom,  while 
later  sown  seed  will  mature  blossoms  correspondingly  late. 


296  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

The  careful  grower  devotes  a  great  deal  of  time  to  rogueing 
his  crops.  In  spite  of  the  greatest  care  in  selection  there  will  al- 
ways be  a  few  off  plants,  and  these  must  come  out  to  keep  the 
stock  pure. 

One  Use  of  Machinery. — Improved  cleaning  machinery  has 
proved  an  important  factor  in  the  production  of  a  bright,  fresh- 
looking  sample  of  seed,  and  has  improved  the  vitality  test  by  allow- 
ing a  thorough  separation  of  everything  spurious  from  the  good 
seed.  Hand  mills  are  employed  to  some  extent  for  small  lots,  but 
the  main  cleaning  is  done  with  large  Clipper  Mills,  operated  by 
gasoline  engines,  and  sometimes  the  electric  motor  is  used.  This 
gives  a  steadier  power  and  a  much  larger  capacity.  It  was  not  un- 
til a  few  years  ago  that  onion  seed  could  be  successfully  threshed 
and  separated  by  one  and  the  same  mill.  After  years  of  experi- 
menting and  great  expense,  one  was  built  that  could  successfully 
do  this,  and  now  onion  seed  is  threshed  and  cleaned  by  large  mills 
run  with  steam  engines.  It  is,  however,  still  necessary  to  sink  the 
seed  in  water  to  get  it  perfectly  clean. 

Hand  Labor. — Nothing  has  been  invented  for  threshing  lettuce, 
cabbage,  parsnip,  parsley,  etc.,  which  is  any  improvement  on  the  old 
hand  flail,  and  gangs  of  men  are  employed  in  threshing  these  crops. 
The  diversity  of  the  crops  and  the  innumerable  variety  would  make 
it  naturally  unprofitable  to  attempt  to  employ  machinery  in  the  field 
for  these  kinds  of  seed. 

The  seed  grower  must  depend  upon  a  great  deal  of  hand  work. 
Everything  must  be  harvested  by  hand;  every  onion  head  must  be 
cut  by  hand ;  every  stalk  of  lettuce  and  carrot  must  be  dried,  turned, 
threshed,  cleaned  and  recleaned.  Carrot  seed  must  not  only  be 
flailed  to  thresh  it,  but  it  must  also  be  run  through  a  rubbing  ma- 
chine to  break  the  beards  off  and  then  cleaned  in-doors. 

All  the  planting  and  cultivating  must  be  done  very  carefully, 
and  much  of  it  is  hand  work.  Every  onion  bulb  must  be  set  right 
side  up  in  the  row — then  carefully  covered.  Celery  plants  are  twice 
transplanted  before  being  finally  set  out  in  the  field.  Carrots  and 
all  roots  must  be  selected  and  taken  out  to  be  transplanted — all 
which  are  defective  in  shape  and  color  being  thrown  out. 

The  careful  seed  grower  always  makes  careful  selections  of 
everything  he  has  growing,  which  he  plants  separately  for  his  own 
stock  seed.  There  will  always  be  some  roots  or  plants  that  are 
rather  better  in  being  nearer  the  true  type  and  color  than  the  others, 
and  it  is  from  among  these  that  the  careful  grower  makes  his 
selections. 

Climatic  Advantages. — In  addition  to  the  advantages  of  the 
California  climate  in  growing  the  plants,  there  are  other  advantages 
in  handling  the  crop.  The  long,  dry  summers  afford  a  fine  oppor- 
tunity to  thoroughly  dry  the  seed  and  permit  a  large  part  of  the 
harvest  work  to  be  done  in  the  field.  It  is  not  necessary  to  build 
great  barns  and  drying  sheds  as  they  do  in  the  East,  although  the 


OUTLOOK  OF  SEED  GROWING  297 

large  California  growers  provide  themselves  with  large  cleaning 
houses  and  storage  warehouses  into  which  to  take  the  seed  as  soon 
as  it  is  sacked  and  ready  for  shipment. 

The  Future. — It  has  taken  all  these  years  to  learn  how  to  grow 
seeds  and  to  have  trained  a  number  of  men  who  also  know  how, 
and  what  to  do,  so  that  in  the  future  even  greater  and  more  inter- 
esting developments  may  be  expected  in  all  branches  of  seed  grow- 
ing. One  hardly  knows  what  the  possibilities  are,  but  the  past  has 
clearly  shown  that  our  soil  and  climate  will  be  great  aids  to  future 
accomplishment,  and  in  our  wide  range  of  natural  conditions,  it  is 
reasonable  to  expect  that  many  things  not  now  undertaken,  may 
find  a  favorable  environment,  and  reward  the  intelligent  and  pains- 
taking grower. 


CHAPTER    XXXVIII. 
GARDEN  PROTECTION. 

There  are  three  main  lines  of  protection  to  which  the  vegetable 
grower  may  find  himself  compelled  to  give  attention,  and  he  may 
sometimes  be  so  beset  by  ills  that  he  will  cry  in  despair  that  all 
forces  of  earth,  air  and  sky  are  arrayed  against  his  enterprise.  For- 
tunately, however,  there  is  nothing  in  the  situation,  usually,  to  appall 
one  who  is  energetic  and  prompt  and  eager  for  success,  and  an  effort 
will  be  made  to  suggest  expedients  and  methods  which  will  assist 
in  repelling  various  destroying  agencies.  The  three  classes  of  in- 
truders to  which  attention  will  be  called  are  these:  unfavor- 
able atmospheric  conditions;  injurious  insects  and  fungi;  injurious 
animals. 

PROTECTION  AGAINST  WINDS  AND  FROST. 

Protection  against  harsh  winds  has  already  been  incidentally 
mentioned  from  time  to  time.  There  are  very  few  places  where  a 
good  windbreak  will  not  be  of  decided  advantage,  and  if  the  gar- 
den ground  cannot  be  selected  so  as  to  enjoy  the  protection  of 
trees  and  buildings  already  in  place,  special  planting  or  construc- 
tion should  be  undertaken.  A  good  shelter  belt  of  trees,  preferably 
of  evergreen  foliage  so  placed  as  to  break  the  cold  winds  from  the 
direction  prevailing  in  the  locality,  will  be  found  of  immense  ad- 
vantage. Where  such  protection  is  not  practicable,  a  high  fence, 
even  if  not  closely  boarded,  will  afford  some  protection  to  a  much 
greater  width  of  ground  than  one  might  think  at  first.  Fence-like 
screens  made  by  interweaving  bamboo  canes  or  tall  reeds  (arundo 
donax)  with  fence  wire,  serve  well  as  low  windbreaks  for  small 
planted  areas.  These  screens  can  be  made  in  the  way  described  for 
fencing  on  page  86  but  two  or  three  times  as  high. 

Protection  against  frost,  effective  against  a  drop  of  several  de- 
grees below  freezing  point,  is  secured  by  the  use  of  a  smoke  smudge. 
Most  effective  fires  are  those  which  yield  volumes  of  steam  as  well 
as  smoke,  so  that  masses  of  wet  straw  or  rubbish  placed  over  dry 
stuff  enough  to  maintain  combustion,  are  the  best  material.  Run- 
ning or  standing  water  close  to  the  plants  or  water  sprinkled  on 
them  will  also  prevent  frost  effect,  providing  the  temperature  does 
not  sink  very  far  below  the  freezing  point  nor  remain  there  too  long. 
Under  such  conditions,  covers  of  paper  or  burlap,  also  serve  a  good 
purpose.  The  largest  use  of  frost  covers  is  that  made  by  the  canta- 
loup growers  of  the  Imperial  Valley,  as  stated  on  page  210.  They 
take  pieces  about  a  foot  square  of  oiled  or  paraffined  paper  and 


REMEDIES  FOR  INSECTS  299 

crown  it  over  a  seed-hill  with  lumps  of  dirt  on  the  corners  to  hold 
the  paper  in  place.  As  the  young  plants  appear  the  covers  are  re- 
adjusted to  them  at  the  time  of  hoeing.  Sometimes  the  square  of 
paper  is  humped  up  toward  one  side  and  the  folded  edges  pinned 
together  by  a  piece  of  wire  long  enough  to  hold  the  paper-laps 
together  and  go  into  the  ground  a  few  inches  to  hold  the  cover  in 
place.  This  makes  an  opening  at  the  south  side  which  gets  larger 
as  the  plants  rise.  The  earliest  plantings  bring  ripe  melons  a  month 
earlier,  through  the  protection  which  the  covers  afford.  It  is  a 
unique  sight  to  see  a  large  acreage  covered  in  this  way.  It  is,  of 
course,  only  efficient  where  frosts  are  infrequent  and  light. 

The  whole  question  of  cheapest  and  most  effective  frost  pro- 
tection in  California  is  still  open,  and  careful  experimentation  is 
proceeding.  All  growers  should  read  regularly  some  California 
horticultural  journal  in  which  the  latest  discoveries  and  practices 
are  described. 

INJURIOUS  INSECTS. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  attacks  of  these  evils  are 
in  many  cases  conditioned  upon  weakness  and  unthrift  to  the  plant, 
and  the  danger  from  both  insects  and  blights  is  reduced  by  keeping 
the  plants  in  most  active  and  vigorous  growth.  Lack  of  cultivation, 
lack  of  plant  food  in  the  soil,  and  lack  of  moisture,  are  all  invita- 
tions to  these  invaders.  The  natural  resistance  of  the  plant  is 
broken  down,  and  it  becomes  a  prey  to  its  enemies.  But  the  best 
growing  conditions  do  not  render  plants  immune  against  all  pests. 
Some  are  so  aggressive  that  the  grower  has  to  fight  to  save  his  crop, 
and  to  fight  hard  sometimes. 

Fortunately,  warfare  against  insects  has  been  greatly  simpli- 
fied during  recent  years  by  the  use  of  remedies  of  comparatively 
recent  application.  There  are  two  chief  divisions  of  insects :  first, 
biting  insects,  which  are  recognized  by  the  gardener  by  the  fact  that 
they  make  holes  in  the  foliage ;  second,  sucking  insects,  which  make 
no  holes,  but  pierce  and  extract  the  sap  in  such  a  way  that  the  leaf 
curls  or  wilts,  loses  color  and  perhaps  dies  without  losing  any  ap- 
preciable part  of  its  surface.  Each  of  these  classes  has  its  own 
remedy. 

Remedies  for  Biting  Insects. — Insects  which  consume  the  leaf 
surface  are  destroyed  by  poison,  and  this  can  be  used  in  such  minute 
quantities  as  not  to  destroy  the  foliage  nor  render  it  dangerous  for 
food  purposes  unless  the  plant  is  nearly  in  condition  for  eating,  and 
then,  of  course,  poison  on  the  foliage  is  very  dangerous  if  the  foliage 
is  the  edible  part.  If  the  edible  part  is  the  root  or  tuber,  poison  on 
the  foliage  is  not  dangerous.  The  most  widely  used  poison  was 
Paris  green  until  the  arsenate  of  lead  rose  to  such  prominence  in 
plant  protection,  because  of  its  less  cost  and  less  danger  of  injury  to 
foliage.  Paris  green  can  be  used  either  as  a  powder  mixed  with 
twenty  times  its  bulk  of  flour  and  dusted  on  the  plant,  or  applied  as 


300  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

a  spray  or  sprinkle,  using  an  ounce  of  Paris  green  to  ten  or  twelve 
gallons  of  water. 

Lead  arsenate,  either  in  paste  or  powder  form,  may  be  used  at 
the  rate  of  one  pound  to  fifteen  gallons  of  water — well  stirred  in 
and  frequently  stirred  during  application.  A  very  convenient  way 
is  to  use  arsenate  of  lead  powder  as  a  "dry  spray"  dusted  on  the 
foliage  to  be  protected.  Mix  the  powder  with  an  equal  amount  of 
sulphur,  flour,  sifted  ashes  or  any  finely  powdered  neutral  substance. 
One  of  the  best  of  these  powders  is  sifted  ashes.  The  mixture  is 
put  into  a  small  bag  of  cheese  cloth  or  other  similar  material,  and 
shaken  over  the  plants.  Being  easily  seen,  the  operator  can  apply 
as  much  or  as  little  as  he  wishes.  If  applied  in  early  morning  the 
moisture  will  cause  the  material  to  adhere  to  the  leaves  more  closely. 
An  application  every  ten  days  should  keep  the  pests  under  control 
except  when  followed  by  a  rain,  in  which  case  the  new  application 
should  be  made. 

Either  Paris  green  or  lead  arsenate  will  kill  all  forms  of  in- 
sects, large  or  small,  which  make  holes  in  leaves.  It  only  becomes 
ineffective  when  insects  occur  in  such  vast  multitudes  that  the  plant 
is  all  consumed  before  all  the  insects  are  supplied  with  the  poison. 
This  would  happen  in  the  case  of  an  invasion  by  grasshoppers  or 
army  worms,  which,  fortunately,  does  not  often  occur  in  garden 
practice. 

For  larvae  which  come  from  the  ground  and  destroy  the  plant 
by  cutting  the  stem,  Paris  green  and  arsenate  of  lead,  either  dust  or 
sprinkle,  may  be  placed  on  tender  leaves  or  sprigs  of  alfalfa  which 
are  placed  on  the  ground  beside  the  plants  to  be  protected.  The 
most  injurious  insects  of  this  kind  are  called  "cutworms."  It  is 
also  often  satisfactory  to  use  the  the  poison  in  this  way : 

Coarse  bran,  16  Ibs. ;  Paris  Green,  ^  Ib. ;  salt,  %  lb. ;  cheap  syrup,  1  qt. ; 
warm  water  to  make  a  coarse,  crumbly  mash.  Be  sure  not  to  get  the  material 
sloppy ;  it  should  fall  apart  readily  in  the  hand  after  being  pressed  together. 

Place  a  spoonful  of  this  near  the  plants  being  injured,  not 
getting  it  too  near  the  stalk.  It  is  a  good  plan  to  do  this  in  the 
evening  so  the  mash  will  remain  moist  for  a  longer  time.  If  a  new 
lot  of  worms  hatch,  the  dose  will  have  to  be  repeated.  Poultry  and 
pet  animals  must  be  kept  away. 

The  same  preparation  is  also  very  effective  for  grasshoppers 
in  vineyards,  but,  as  already  stated,  there  is  little  chance  of  coping 
with  grasshoppers  or  army  worms  in  the  garden  by  poisoning.  Un- 
less they  can  be  checked  by  walls  of  fire  or  streams  of  running 
water  around  the  garden,  the  gardener  has  little  to  do  but  to  replant 
as  soon  as  they  have  passed  on  their  way. 

When  biting  insects  attack  plants  which  it  is  not  thought  safe 
to  poison,  the  use  of  a  powder  of  air-slacked  lime  or  of  dry  wood 
ashes  is  often  effective  in  discouraging  their  attacks.  Another  re- 
pellant  which  sometimes  works  like  a  charm  is  kerosene  powder 


INSECT  REMEDIES  301 

made  by  stirring  a  tablespoonful  of  the  oil  to  a  quart  of  pulverized 
gypsum,  or  air-slacked  lime,  or  even  fine  road  dust.  Scatter  it  on 
and  around  the  plant. 

Plants  may  also  be  often  rendered  unattractive  to  insects  by 
free  sprinkling  with  tar  water.  Take  a  barrel  with  a  few  gallons 
of  gas  tar  in  it,  pour  water  on  the  tar,  and  have  it  always  ready 
when  needed.  When  the  insects  appear  give  them  a  liberal  dose 
of  the  tar  water  from  a  garden  sprinkler  or  otherwise;  when  the 
rain  washes  it  off  the  leaves,  or  the  pests  return,  repeat  the  dose. 

There  are  other  biting  and  boring  insects  which  destroy  plants 
by  their  injuries  to  the  roots.  Wireworms  are  a  conspicuous  group 
of  these  destroyers.  All  underground  pests  are  naturally  difficult 
of  treatment  and  often  in  field  practice  they  cannot  be  economically 
destroyed  or  discouraged.  In  garden  practice,  however,  the  use  of 
soot  or  nitrate  of  soda,  in  very  small  quantities,  or  of  tobacco  dust, 
the  extract  of  which  is  carried  down  by  water  to  the  discomfiture 
of  the  pest,  is  often  effective  and  profitable. 

Another  group  of  biting  pests  though  not  strictly  insects  are 
slugs  and  snails.  They  can  be  poisoned  by  the  use  of  poisoned 
leaves  lead  on  the  ground,  or  they  can  be  trapped  either  with  leaves 
or  pieces  of  board  or  little  piles  of  wheat  bran.  Early  in  the  morn- 
ing the  slugs  will  be  found  in  large  numbers  under  the  leaves  or 
boards,  or  collected  in  the  bran,  and  can  easily  be  gathered  up  for 
breakfast  in  the  poultry  yard.  Mother  hens  in  portable  coops  with 
the  young  chicks  or  ducks  running  among  the  plants,  are  a  very 
good  solution  of  the  slug  question  on  a  small  scale.  Myriads  of 
slugs  in  the  garden  are  often  due  to  excessive  surface  irrigation. 
If  the  surface  is  finely  worked  up  and  allowed  to  dry  it  is  very  dis- 
couraging to  slugs  and  is  otherwise  promotive  of  plant  growth. 

Remedies  for  Sucking  Insects. — These  are  pests  both  large  and 
small  which  bring  distress  to  plants  without  visibly  consuming  their 
substance,  as  has  already  been  described.  They  are  not  affected  by 
poison  on  the  surface.  They  must  be  killed  by  applications  which 
destroy  by  contact  with  the  exterior  of  the  insects.  The  universally 
approved  remedy  for  this  large  class  of  pests  is  kerosene  emulsion. 
If  properly  made  and  diluted,  it  is  harmless  to  the  plant  and  deadly 
to  the  insect.  The  formula  which  is  most  easily  prepared  and  most 
available  for  garden  work,  is  that  devised  by  the  late  Prof.  A.  J. 
Cook  as  follows : 

Common  laundry  soap : .    %  pounds. 

Kerosene    3       pints. 

Water  4%  gallons. 

Cut  up  and  dissolve  the  soap  in  six  quarts  of  boiling  water  in  a 
fiv^-gallon  oil  can.  Remove  from  the  fire  and  add  the  kerosene, 
and  stir  violently  until  you  make  an  emulsion  from  which  the  oil 
will  not  separate  when  cool.  This  may  be  done  by  churning,  by 
revolving  agitators,  as  in  an  egg  beater,  or  by  pumping  the  stuff 


302  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

back  into  itself  with  nozzle  and  force  pump.  The  last  is  the  com- 
monest way.  When  the  agitation  is  adequate  practically  the  whole 
of  the  mess  changes  form  and  becomes  like  clabbered  milk,  and  this 
is  added  to  ten  or  more  times  its  bulk  of  water,  according  to  the 
strength  you  desire  to  use.  One  to  20  is  strong  enough  for  plant 
lice.  The  essential  is  not  in  strength,  but  in  getting  the  dope  on  the 
bug  with  a  garden  syringe  or  spray-pump,  and  it  will  kill  all  in- 
sects which  are  covered  with  a  film  of  it.  A  fine  rose  sprinkler  can 
be  used,  but  it  is  wasteful  and  the  application  does  not  penetrate,  as 
well  as  from  a  spray-nozzle. 

Next  in  importance  to  oil  emulsions  in  the  warfare  against 
sucking  insects  are  the  tobacco  preparations  and  they  are  so  efficient 
against  some  small  pests  like  aphis,  thrips,  white  fly,  etc.,  that  they 
are  often  added  to  the  water  used  in  diluting  the  emulsions.  To- 
bacco preparations  are  both  home-made  and  commercial.  One 
pound  of  tobacco  leaves  or  stems  steeped  in  four  gallons  of  hot 
water  produces  a  good  insecticide.  The  commercial  extract  con- 
taining 40%  of  nictotine  is  used  at  the  rate  of  one  pint  to  two 
hundred  gallons  of  water  or  of  diluted  emulsion.  Nicotine  extracts 
are  sold  under  various  names  as  insecticides  by  druggists  and  seeds- 
men and  are  usually  worth  their  higher  cost  because  of  convenience 
in  securing  small  quantities  ready  for  use. 

The  emulsions  and  tobacco  washes  will,  of  course,  kill  many 
insects  for  which  poison  has  been  prescribed  and  are  available 
whenever  the  use  of  poison  is  thought  to  be  undesirable.  They 
have  their  limitations,  however:  the  stuff  must  be  thrown  on  the 
insect  while  poison  will  wait  for  the  insect  to  come  to  it. 

WAYS  WITH  PARTICULAR  PESTS. 

The  vegetable  grower  will  be  armed  against  insects  if  he  is 
ready  with  the  few  insecticides  we  have  described — to  be  placed 
upon  the  insect's  food  or  upon  the  body  of  the  insect,  as  the  nature 
of  his  work  on  the  plant  indicates,  but  he  must  not  get  the  idea  that 
the  warfare  is  easy.  The  appalling  rapidity  of  insect  reproduction 
and  the  no  less  appalling  number  of  the  kinds  of  them ;  the  sudden- 
ness of  their  appearance  and  the  diversity  of  the  ways  in  which 
they  make  their  attacks — all  these  should  warn  the  grower  to  watch 
his  plants  closely  and  to  strike  fast  and  hard  as  soon  as  he  sees  the 
first  of  the  hosts  of  invaders  which  he  must  learn  to  expect.  In 
the  battle  with  pests  an  early  beginning  is  more  than  half  the 
winning.  * 

Although  it  is  obviously  impossible  to  include  in  a  handbook  of 
general  practice  with  vegetables  detailed  account  of  all  pests  likely 
to  be  encountered,  it  may  be  useful  to  compile  a  sketch  of  frequent 


PLANT  LICE  AND  ANTS  303 

troubles  in  this  line  with  suggestion  of  ways  to  meet  them — in  ad- 
dition to  the  notes  of  particular  pests  which  have  been  given  in 
some  of  the  chapters  on  various  vegetables. 

Plant  Lice  or  Aphides. — Of  all  garden  pests  the  large  group 
of  species  of  winged  and  wingless  insects  known  as  plant  lice  are 
probably  the  worst.  They  attack  nearly  all  vegetables  and  if  not 
checked  will  destroy  whatever  they  attack.  They  are  sometimes 
checked  by  their  natural  enemies  such  as  lady  birds  or  by  unfavor- 
able weather  conditions,  but  in  the  garden  one  should  be  ready  to 
attack  them  at  first  appearance  with  the  remedies  just  described 
for  sucking  insects.  Their  presence  should  be  suspected  whenever 
one  sees  ants  visiting  his  plants.  The  ant  as  a  rule  is  not  directly 
a  plant  pest  but  he  is  indirectly,  for  he  cherishes  the  plant  to  grow 
lice  for  his  use.  Therefore,  when  you  see  ants  running  up  and 
down  a  plant  spray  to  kill  the  aphis.  The  ant  does  not  wait  until 
the  leaves  begin  to  get  curled  and  misshapen.  And  if  the  grower 
waits  for  such  signs  of  distress  it  will  be  too  late  to  do  much  for  it. 
As  soon  as  their  growth  begins  the  undersides  of  the  leaves  should 
be  examined  for  lice  and  such  examination  should  continue  at  short 
intervals  and  as  soon  as  any  are  seen  the  plants  should  be  sprayed 
with  a  nozzle  which  will  hit  the  undersides  of  the  leaves.  They 
can  be  killed  with  ordinary  soap  suds  if  the  fight  is  early  and  often. 

Where  the  plant  lice  are  found  strongly  established  on  a  single 
plant  or  a  few  plants  or  hills  of  plants  and  not  elsewhere  it  is  often 
desirable  to  proceed  heroically.  Early  in  the  spring  the  insect  is 
often  thus  limited  to  a  very  small  number  of  plants  upon  which  they 
become  exceedingly  abundant  before  developing  wings  and  spread- 
ing generally  over  the  field.  When  this  is  the  case  sprinkle  gasoline 
on  each  of  the  early  infested  vines  and  set  fire  to  it,  thus  killing  all 
the  aphids  as  well  as  the  plant.  This  practice  may  not  prevent  the 
final  general  infection  of  the  field,  but  delays  the  time  of  infestation 
very  appreciably  and  gives  you  a  chance  to  keep  ahead  of  the  pest 
by  spraying  as  has  been  described  above. 

In  a  home  garden  squash,  melon  and  other  vines  can  be  dosed 
for  plant  lice  by  turning  the  vines  over ;  taking  up  the  end  of  each 
runner  and  carrying  it  back  over  the  center  of  the  hill.  This  inverts 
most  of  the  leaves  for  a  thorough  drenching  without  undue  loss  of 
labor  and  material.  Care  is  required  that  blossoms  and  young  fruit 
are  not  damaged,  and  it  cannot  well  be  done  after  the  fruit  reaches 
much  size. 

Killing  Ants. — Though  ants  do  not  injure  plants  in  the  ways 
usually  attributed  to  them,  their  work  in  cherishing  and  colonizing 
plant  lice  indicates  that  they  should  be  destroyed — it  is  easy  to  get 
rid  of  them  in  a  small  space  like  a  house  garden.  Professor  Wood- 


304  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

worth  of   the  University  gives  the  following  poison   for  ants  in 
gardens  or  houses : 

Strong  for  native  ants    Weak  for  Argentine  ants 
White  arsenic  2  oz.  1  scruple 

Sal  soda  4  oz.  1  teaspoonful 

Sugar  1  Ib.  1  Ib. 

Water  1  pt.  1  pt. 

For  native  ants,  expose  a  small  quantity  of  the  strong  poison. 
For  the  Argentine  ant,  place  a  sponge  in  a  fruit  jar,  saturate  it  with  the 
weak  poison,  make  a  few  nailholes  in  the  cover  and  keep  jar  in  pantry  and 
several  others  in  the  yard  about  the  house.    Add  more  poison  from  time  to 
time. 

Destruction  of  Nests. — In  all  the  species  where  there  are  large 
nests  with  a  single  opening  pour  down  one  ounce  of  carbon  bisul- 
phide, either  in  each  of  the  natural  openings  or  in  holes  made  by 
thrusting  in  a  crowbar  and  covering  everything  with  earth.  The 
gas  destroys  both  young  and  old.  This  method  can  be  applied  to 
any  species  where  the  nest  can  be  discovered,  but  in  the  case  of  the 
Argentine  species  it  becomes  the  least  valuable  of  any  method,  since 
the  nests  are  usually  scattered  almost  everywhere  over  the  whole 
surface  of  the  ground  and  the  treatment  to  be  effective  would  have 
to  include  the  entire  ground  space  for  acres. 

When  the  soil  is  very  dry  the  carbon  bisulphide  dissipates  too 
rapidly  to  destroy  the  whole  nest  and  better  results  have  been  se- 
cured with  a  solution  of  cyanide  of  potassium.  The  method  con- 
sists in  making  a  rather  strong  solution  (say  8  oz.  to  one  gallon  of 
water)  of  the  cyanide  and  pouring  it  into  the  holes  in  the  same  way 
that  carbon  bisulphide  is  used,  only  more  of  the  material  is  applied, 
the  amount  actually  used,  of  course,  depending  on  the  size  of  the 
colony.  It  must  be  remembered  that  carbon  bisulphide  is  very  ex- 
plosive and  must  be  kept  away  from  open  lights ;  also  that  cyanide 
and  its  vapor  are  virulently  poisonous  to  man  and  beast  and  must 
be  carefully  used.  Hydrocyanic  gas  is  liberated  in  the  soil  by  this 
means  and  kills  all  ground  pests  it  reaches. 

Cut  Worms. — Young  plants  that  are  just  pushing  through  the 
ground  are  often  found  cut  off  near  the  surface  of  the  ground,  with 
the  wilted  tops  tilted  over  or  lying  near.  If  you  rake  in  the  loose 
dirt  below  you  will  probably  find  sleek,  well  fed,  greasy,  sparsely 
haired  cutworm  caterpillars,  which  are  the  larvae  of  clumsy  mottled 
grey  and  brown  moths  which  are  attracted  to  lights  and  many  of 
them  can  be  caught  by  putting  small  lamps  over  pans  of  water  on 
which  is  a  film  of  coal  oil. 

Poisoned  bait  for  cutworms  has  already  been  described.  They 
may  also  be  reduced  by  raking  them  out  of  the  dirt  and  crushing 
them  or  you  can  let  the  fowls  scratch  them  out  if  they  are  not 
likely  to  injure  the  plants  more  than  the  worms  do.  Several  kinds 
of  birds,  induing  the  robin,  catbird,  blackbird,  and  quail,  feed 
on  cutworms.  Toads  also  like  them  and  should  be  encouraged 


CUTWORMS  AND  WIREWORMS  305 

and  protected  rather  than  destroyed.     Spiders  and  wasps  also  prey 
on  cutworms. 

Plants  may  be  protected  by  pressing  stiff  cylinders  of  paper  or 
tin  down  into  the  soil  about  the  stems,  allowing  them  to  project 
about  two  inches  above  the  ground,  or  each  plant  may  be  wrapped 
in  a  piece  of  newspaper  as  it  is  transplanted  from  the  seed-bed. 

Wireworms. — If  the  larger  garden  seeds  are  not  coming  up 
and  you  dig  down  and  find  them  being  eaten  by  a  flattish,  yellowish, 
slim  worm  which  you  try  to  pull  apart  and  find  it  very  tough,  you 
are  being  visited  by  wireworms.  You  may  also  find  such  worms 
destroying  your  seed  potatoes  or  burrowing  into  cabbage  stalks  or 
other  vegetables  with  fleshy  roots.  These  worms  begin  by  eating 
the  sprouting  seed  and  continue  eating  roots  until  they  are  fully 
grown,  when  they  make  earthen  cocoons  in  the  ground  and  trans- 
form into  long,  slim  beetles  which  are  called  skip  or  click  beetles, 
because  they  snap  themselves  over  when  laid  upon  their  backs. 

Wireworms  can  be  fought  in  the  garden  by  a  very  thin  scat- 
tering of  nitrate  of  soda  along  the  proposed  rows.  They  can  also 
be  killed  by  poisoning  things  which  they  like,  like  cut  potatoes  or 
other  roots,  green  alfalfa,  etc.,  and  burying  these  in  the  ground  in 
advance  of  planting.  But  if  the  garden  spot  is  badly  infested  it  is 
better  to  make  a  new  garden  on  clean  land  and  kill  out  the  pests 
by  starving  and  burning.  Go  at  it  in  midsummer,  plow  up  deeply 
(for  the  worms  go  down  as  far  as  eight  inches)  and  expose  the  soil 
to  autumn  heat  and  drouth  as  much  as  possible.  Leave  it  rough 
and  let  it  bake  and  blister  in  the  sun  as  much  as  it  can,  and  fence 
the  fowls  on  it.  The  following  winter  put  on  grain,  cut  it  early 
for  hay  and  then  plow  up  the  stubble  and  disk  it  deeply  at  intervals 
next  summer  to  continue  the  drying  and  burning  process  on  the 
worms  and  keep  on  the  fowls  to  do  the  catching  also.  If  you  keep 
at  this  for  a  full  year  vegetables  will  be  reasonably  safe  the  year 
following. 

The  best  natural  enemies  of  wireworms  are  frogs  and  toads, 
and  the  horned  toad  is  particularly  good  at  them. 

Eelworms  or  Nematodes. — Practically  all  fleshy  roots  and 
bulbs  among  garden  plants  are  liable  to  attack  by  eelworms  which 
are  so  small  that  one  cannot  discern  their  details  without  a  micro- 
scope. Their  work  is  usually  manifested  by  mal-formed  or  de- 
formed and  enlarged  roots  and  rootlets.  No  treatment  has  been 
demonstrated  to  be  effective  in  destroying  them  and  saving  the 
plant  which  should  be  dug  up  and  burned.  Dig  a  hole,  put  back  the 
diseased  roots  with  a  good  lot  of  straw  and  bake  the  hole  good  and 
plenty.  When  the  crop  is  off  dig  or  plow  up  loosely  and  let  the  soil 
bake  as  dry  as  possible  until  the  rains  come  and  then  plant  grain  for 
hay  and  take  a  piece  of  new  ground  for  vegetables  if  possible.  These 
pests  have  done  great  injury  to  potatoes  recently  and  seed  potatoes 
should  be  free  from  them. 


306  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

Millipeds. — These  are  "thousand  legged  worms"  which  curl  up 
when  disturbed  into  black  balls.  There  are  many  sizes  of  them: 
the  small  ones,  which  are  hardly  larger  than  shot  when  curled  up, 
do  most  harm  because  most  abundant.  Some  students  of  them  hold 
strongly  that  they  only  affect  decaying  vegetation,  such  as  potatoes 
partly  decayed,  lower  leaves  of  lettuce,  etc.,  but  Mr.  Essig  has 
found  them  in  a  solid  lettuce  head,  so  their  record  is  not  clear.  They 
may  be  poisoned  by  powdering  sliced  potatoes,  lettuce  leaves,  etc., 
with  Paris  green  and  placing  them  on  the  ground,  under  pieces  of 
board — or  they  may  be  trapped  under  pieces  of  board  or  flat  stones 
placed  for  that  purpose  and  then  killed,  by  hand  or  foot,  as  you  may 
prefer. 

Diabroticas. — These  are  often  called  striped  or  spotted  "green 
lady  birds,"  but  no  true  lady  bird  is  green  nor  does  she  do  the  bad 
work  of  the  diabroticas.  Their  specialty  is  the  squash,  melon  and 
cucumber,  etc.,  but  they  do  not  hesitate  at  beans,  corn  and  many 
other  plants.  They  can  be  poisoned  with  lead  arsenate  as  already 
prescribed  for  biting  insects  when  they  are  working  on  foliage 
which  is  not  designed  to  eat,  but  they  have  a  way  of  taking  many 
things  which  it  is  not  safe  to  poison.  They  can  be  discouraged  by 
dusting  the  plants  with  slaked  lime — perfumed  with  coal  oil  by 
stirring  in  enough  for  strong  perfume  without  making  the  lime  too 
wet  for  dusting.  Other  powdery  insecticides,  like  carbolated  lime, 
tobacco  dust,  etc.,  also  accomplish  this  purpose.  They  can  some- 
times be  driven  away  by  smoke  from  fires  on  the  windward  side. 
They  can  be  shaken  early  in  the  morning  from  tall  plants  onto  a 
catching  sheet.  We  know  of  no  easy  way  with  them. 

Flea  Beetles  and  Darkling  Beetles. — These  two  small  pests  are 
not  closely  related  but  we  group  them  on  the  basis  of  their  chief 
work  which  is  to  attack  young  seedlings  or  transplants  and  knock 
them  out  before  they  have  a  fair  show  in  the  world.  The  flea 
beetle  is  not  much  larger  than  a  flea  and  is  usually  first  seen  as  a 
flea  is  apt  to  be  when  it  is  on  the  jump.  Its  function  is  to  corrugate 
the  leaf  surface  and  perforate  the  leaf  and  cause  its  quick  collapse. 
The  "darkling"  beetle  is  a  slim,  black  pest  about  a  quarter  of  an 
inch  in  length  which  attacks  the  plants  just  at  or  below  the  ground 
surface.  Its  specialty  in  gardening  is  tomato  plants  and  it  is  largely 
averted  by  wrapping  the  plant  in  a  piece  of  newspaper  when  setting 
out,  as  described  on  page  273.  W.  S.  Booth,  of  Mountain  View, 
protected  his  transplants  of  tomatoes  with  notable  success  against 
both  flea  and  darkling  beetles  in  this  way : 

I  mixed  neutral  arsenate  of  lead  with  water  at  the  rate  of  one  pound  to 
thirty  gallons  of  water.  I  recommend  mixing  about  ten  gallons  at  a  time  to 
keep  the  solution  clean.  This  amount  would  be  enough  for  about  3,000  plants. 
Frequent  stirring  is  necessary,  as  lead  arsenate  does  not  dissolve  much  better 
than  fine  sand.  Taking  thirty  to  fifty  plants  in  a  bunch,  I  dipped  the  tops 
clear  to  the  roots  in  the  solution  just  before  taking  them  to  the  field.  Fol- 
lowing this  treatment,  I  did  not  lose  one-half  of  one  per  cent  of  my  plants 


SQUASH   AND  POTATO   PESTS  307 

from  insects,  while  another  grower  who  had  several  acres  near  by  had  to 
replant  more  than  one-half  of  his  ground. 

These  pests  can  also  be  checked  by  thoroughly  dusting  the 
plants  with  arsenate  of  lead  powder,  already  described  in  this  chap- 
ter ;  or  with  Paris  green  thoroughly  mixed  with  flour  at  the  rate  of 
one  ounce  to  the  pound. 

Squash  Bugs. — These  are  the  disagreeable  black  insects  which 
take  to  the  squash  family  and  are  commonly  known  as  "stink  bugs." 
They  cannot  be  poisoned  because  they  suck  juices  and  do  not  eat 
the  leaf  surface  on  which  the  poison  is  spread.  The  young  insects 
can  be  killed  by  spraying  with  kerosene  emulsion,  but  the  old  ones 
are  hard  to  get  by  any  process  except  hand-picking  and  smashing. 
One  should  always  be  on  the  lookout  for  this  pest  and  pounce 
quickly  on  the  first  appearance  and  the  masses  of  dark  brown  eggs 
which  they  deposit  on  the  leaves  and  stems  of  the  plants  they  infest, 
and  stamp  out  the  trouble  by  hand-picking.  Various  growers  have 
reported  some  success  with  a  spray  of  creolin  (a  tablespoonful  to  a 
gallon  of  water)  also  with  powdering  the  vine  and  nearby  ground 
with  tobacco  dust,  also  with  a  powder  made  by  stirring  enough 
kerosene  oil  into  air-slaked  lime  as  already  noted  for  diabroticas. 
They  can  be  trapped  under  pieces  of  board,  etc.,  placed  near  to  the 
plants  and  can  be  crushed  early  in  the  morning.  Unless  one  starts 
in  very  early  the  pest  is  very  hard  to  control  but  it  is  fortunately 
not  very  abundant.  All  garden  rubbish  should  be  cleaned  up  in  the 
fall  for  it  is  in  such  shelter  that  the  insects  hibernate.  Such  clean- 
ing up  and  springtime  watchfulness  are  the  most  promising  re- 
courses. 

Hills  of  plants  can  be  protected  from  early  attack  by  stink  bugs 
by  covering  with  cloth,  paper,  etc.  One  way  is  thus :  Make  arches 
of  baling  wire  big  enough  so  that  by  the  time  a  paper  laid  over  the 
arch  would  be  in  the  way  of  the  growing  vines,  the  vines  would  be 
big  enough  to  escape  damage.  Put  such  an  arch  over  each  hill  and 
cover  it  with  a  square  of  thin,  tough  wrapping  paper  which  you  will 
have  dipped  into  high  grade  distillate  or  heavy  kerosene.  Lay  the 
paper  cornerwise  on  the  arch  and  fasten  the  corners  down  with 
dirt.  It  will  allow  light  to  pass  through  and  will  keep  off  any  mi- 
grating bugs. 

The  Potato  Worm. — This  serious  pest  is  mentioned  on  page 
246  as  the  third  of  the  great  potato  destroyers.  It  is  commonly 
first  noticed  by  the  burrows  in  the  tuber  which  separate  from  the 
flesh  after  cooking  in  black  strings.  Their  work  also  inpairs  the 
external  appearance  of  the  fresh  tubers.  The  worm  is  the  offspring 
of  a  small  gray  moth  which  lays  its  eggs  in  early  and  again  in  late 
summer  on  potato  foliage  or  stems  or  on  the  stems  of  other  plants, 
mostly  of  the  potato  family,  or  on  exposed  tubers  in  the  field  or  in 
the  storeroom.  As  the  eggs  hatch,  the  caterpillars  either  mine  the 
stems  and  leaves,  rarely  pushing  down  in  case  of  loose  soil  several 


308  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

inches  and  may  enter  potatoes  which  are  not  exposed.  Their  bur- 
rows in  the  tubers  ruin  them  and  permit  of  further  destruction  in 
field  or  cellar,  as  more  moths  are  bred  to  lay  more  eggs.  There  may 
be  three,  possibly  four,  broods  in  a  season.  In  addition  to  the  sug- 
gestion given  on  page  246  the  following  protective  details  may  be 
noted : 

Plant  as  deep  as  practicable  (5  to  6  inches),  except  in  winter 
planting  where  much  rain  is  expected  and  the  ground  likely  to  be 
too  wet ;  in  that  case  ridge  or  hill-up  to  keep  tubers  well  covered. 

Harvest  as  early  as  possible,  before  the  potato  tops  become  so 
dry  as  to  drive  the  partially  grown  larvae  to  descend  and  work  on 
the  tuber. 

In  harvesting  the  sacks  should  never  be  covered  with  potato 
tops,  as  the  larvae  leave  these  when  they  wilt  and  enter  the  potatoes. 
The  sacks  should  be  sewed  as  soon  as  possible  and  hauled  from  the 
field,  and  dug  potatoes  should  never  be  left  in  the  field  or  exposed 
to  the  moth  over  night.  All  cull  potatoes  should  be  gathered  up 
within  two  weeks  and  either  fed  to  stock  at  once  or  destroyed. 

White  Fly. — This  is  a  small  winged  insect,  floury  white,  which 
has  a  great  liking  for  beans,  but  may  take  to  many  other  vegetables. 
It  attacks  the  underside  of  the  leaves  which  first  turn  yellow  in 
spots  and  finally  all  over,  and  then  fall  as  the  insects  draw  the  juices 
from  them.  Whenever  the  plant  is  touched  they  rise  up  almost  like 
smoke  and  then  settle  back.  They  can  be  killed  with  kerosene 
emulsion,  properly  made  without  injury  to  plants.  You  need  a 
goocj  pump  and  nozzle  to  make  a  spray-cloud  to  dislodge  them  from 
the  under  sides  of  the  leaves  and  entangle  them  in  air  also. 

Other  Pests. — The  gardener  will,  of  course,  encounter  many 
other  pests,  but  he  must  not  be  dismayed.  The  treatment  will 
usually  be  indicated  by  the  character  of  the  injury  inflicted,  as  sug- 
gested earlier  in  this  chapter,  and  by  the  ways  of  working  and 
fighting  the  chief  pests  which  we  have  particularized.  Specific  pests 
are  also  mentioned  in  the  preceding  cultural  chapters :  on  beans, 
page  141;  on  cabbage,  page  164;  on  corn,  page  187;  on  potatoes, 
page  246. 

Whenever  insects  do  not  yield  to  the  treatments  proposed,  or 
whenever  the  use  of  these  remedies  does  not  seem  to  be  practicable, 
it  is  well  for  the  grower  to  apply  to  Agricultural  Experiment  Sta- 
tion, University  of  California,  Berkeley,  sending  a  specimen  of  the 
insect  and  of  its  work  if  possible.  An  answer  embodying  the  latest 
information  on  the  subject,  will  be  made  without  cost  to  the  appli- 
cant. Useful  descriptive  publications  will  also  be  sent  in  many  cases. 

INJURIOUS   FUNGI. 

Molds,  mildews  and  blights  seem  to  be  ever  on  the  alert  to 
attack  garden  plants  whenever  suitable  conditions  prevail.  Fortu- 
nately. California  is  much  less  subject  to  these  intrusions  than 


TREATMENTS  OF  BLIGHTS  AND  MILDEWS  309 

countries  with  humid  summer  heat,  and  some  very  destructive  gar- 
den fungi  either  do  not  occur  here  or  occasion  very  little  trouble. 
Still  it  is  well  for  the  gardener  to  know  that  the  arrest  of  fungous 
invasion  is  a  very  much  simpler  proposition  than  it  was  some  years 
ago.  This  fact  is  due  to  the  demonstration  of  the  efficacy  of  solu- 
tions of  copper  salts.  The  most  effective  preparation  is  known  as 
the  Bordeaux  mixture,  which  is  prepared  as  follows : 

Dissolve  one-half  pound  copper  sulphate  (bluestone)  in  two  and  one- 
half  gallons  of  water  in  a  wooden  pail,  slake  one-half  pound  fresh  lime  in 
one-half  gallon  of  hot  water,  stirring  and  rubbing  till  completely  slaked; 
when  the  lime  is  cool  put  the  bluestone  solution  into  a  five-gallon  oil  can, 
and  add  the  lime  by  allowing  it  to  run  through  a  coarse  cloth  strained  to 
remove  lumps  or  dirt.  Stir  in  water  enough  to  fill  the  can  and  it  is  ready 
for  use.  The  mixture  should  not  stand  in  a  metal  vessel. 

This  makes  a  light  blue  whitewash  which  will  be  effective  as  it 
slowly  diffuses  its  components  over  the  leaf  surface.  In  our  dry 
summer  it  remains  operative  for  a  long  time.  It  does,  however, 
make  the  plant  unhandsome,  and  where  a  fungicide  is  desired  which 
does  not  discolor  the  leaves,  the  following  may  be  substituted  for 
the  Bordeau  mixture: 

Dissolve  three-fourths  ounce  of  copper  sulphate  (bluestone)  in  one  quart 
of  warm  water,  and  one  ounce  of  salsoda  (washing  soda)  in  another  quart 
of  warm  water.  When  both  are  cool,  mix  them  together  and  add  five  ounces 
of  washing  ammonia.  When  the  mixture  is  clear,  after  standing  long  enough 
to  accomplish  that,  add  cold  water  to  make  five  gallons. 

This  preparation  is  much  shorter  in  its  protective  effect  than 
when  the  copper  is  progressively  set  free  from  the  lime  as  in  the 
Bordeaux  mixtures. 

Obviously  these  copper  compounds  cannot  be  applied  to  foliage 
which  is  the  edible  part  of  the  vegetable  except  during  the  early 
period  of  its  growth. 

Some  fungi  are  quite  readily  checked  by  the  use  of  dry  sulphur, 
but  when  this  is  not  effective,  the  copper  compounds  will  be  found 
satisfactory. 

In  many  cases  the  attacks  of  fungi  may  be  avoided  by  keeping 
the  plants  growing  thriftily,  or  by  choosing  varieties  which  are  not 
affected  by  the  diseases  to  which  other  varieties  succumb.  Wher- 
ever this  course  is  open  to  the  gardener,  it  will  be  found  more  satis- 
factory than  the  application  of  remedies. 

DESTRUCTIVE   ANIMALS   AND   BIRDS. 

Against  the  larger  marauders  from  the  forest,  the  field  or  the 
barnyard,  the  farm  garden  must  be  protected  by  an  adequate  fence 
close  enough  to  exclude  fowls  and  jack-rabbits.  For  the  latter  pur- 
pose closely  set  strands  of  barbed  wire  are  the  cheapest  material. 
The  bottom  wire  must  be  set  low  enough  to  prevent  entrance  by 
scratching  under.  Even  when  a  neater  fence  is  made  of  wire  net- 


310  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

ting,  strands  of  barbed  wire  above  and  below  are  often  very  useful. 
The  method  of  making  such  fencing  is  described  on  page  86. 

A  good  rabbit-proof  fence  can  be  built  with  chicken  wire  net- 
ting two  feet  wide,  stapled  to  the  inside  of  the  posts,  the  bottom 
of  it  at  the  ground  surface  and  barbed  wire  with  bars  2^  inches 
apart  run  along  just  above  the  ground  surface  to  prevent  tunneling 
under,  with  another  barbed  wire  stapled  to  the  other  side  of  the  post 
just  above  the  upper  line  of  the  fence  to  prevent  jumping  over.  If 
you  can  get  barbs  2y2  inches  apart,  you  can  make  a  good  rabbit 
fence  by  excluding  the  netting  and  running  the  wires  about  3  inches 
apart  until  you  come  to  2  feet  and  6  inches  apart  above  that.  Then 
keep  a  greyhound  and  a  shot  gun  for  the  rabbits  which  may  man- 
age to  get  through  in  some  way. 

In  a  small  garden  rabbits  can  be  fooled  by  a  straw  cover.  Mr. 
H.  C.  Tracy,  of  Hollywood,  gives  this  interesting  experience : 

In  my  garden  bounded  on  two  sides  by  brush,  having  on  previous  oc- 
casions had  no  luck  with  poisons  and  deterrents,  I  tried  spreading  over  all 
my  plantings  a  light  scattering  of  straw — by  no  means  enough  to  darken 
the  seedlings  but  quite  sufficient  to  screen  them  from  rabbit-brained  ma- 
rauders, who  seemed  to  regard  the  whole  field  as  a  straw  patch.  A  corner 
which  I  neglected  was  eaten  to  the  ground,  but  where  my  ruse  was  first 
tried  out  I  now  have  beans  with  pods  six  inches  long,  their  tops,  of  course, 
showing  plainly  above  the  straw,  but  remaining  unmolested. 

Squirrels. — Ground  squirrels  should  be  destroyed  in  the  ad- 
joining fields  as  well  as  in  the  garden,  or  its  protection  is  almost  a 
hopeless  undertaking.  When  the  ground  is  wet,  squirrels  are  very 
satisfactorily  destroyed  with  carbon  bisulphide,  and  this  material, 
with  appliances  and  instructions  for  its  use,  can  usually  be  had  in 
country  stores. 

In  dry  soil  the  carbon  bisulphide  is  not  as  effective,  and  some 
of  the  many  good  squirrel  poisons  must  be  used.  The  following 
has  been  shown  to  be  very  satisfactory : 

Strychnine,  one  ounce ;  cyanide  of  potassium,  one  and  one-half  ounces ; 
eggs,  one  dozen;  honey,  one  pint;  vinegar  one  and  one-half  pints;  wheat  or 
barley,  thirty  pounds.  Dissolve  the  strychnine  in  the  vinegar,  pulverizing  it 
in  the  vinegar,  or  it  will  gather  in  a  lump.  See  that  it  is  all  dissolved.  Dis- 
solve the  cyanide  of  potassium  in  a  little  water.  Beat  the  eggs.  Mix  all  the 
ingredients  together  thoroughly  before  adding  to  the  barley.  Let  it  stand 
twenty-four  hours,  mixing  often.  Spread  to  dry  before  using,  as  it  will  mold 
if  put  away  wet. 

A  cheaper  and  exceedingly  effective  poison  is  that  invented  by 
Mr.  S.  E.  Piper  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture  as  follows : 

Whole  barley  (recleaned) 14  Ibs. 

Strychnine  sulphate    1  ounce 

Soda   (bicarbonate)    1  ounce 

Saccharine     li  dram 

Thin  starch  paste 1  pint 

Corn  starch  (Karo  or  equal) 2  ounces 

Dissolve  the  strychnine  in  hot  water;  thicken  with  starch  to  about  the 
consistency  of  thin  soup.  Dissolve  the  soda  in  one-half  pint  of  hot  water 


KILLING  GOPHERS  311 

and  add  a  little  at  a  time  to  the  poisoned  starch  until  effervescence  ceases, 
then  add  the  syrup  and  saccharine,  mix  well  and  apply  to  the  grain,  stirring 
constantly  until  the  poison  is  evenly  distributed  throughout,  and  the  grain  is 
thoroughly  dry. 

Each  quart  of  the  poisoned  grain  is  sufficient  for  40  to  50  baits. 
This  quantity  scattered  along  squirrel  trails  or  runs  but  not  close 
to  the  holes,  will  not  endanger  the  stock  but  will  kill  poultry. 

Trapping  Gophers. — Some  gardeners  are  very  successful  in 
gopher  trapping.  It  is  an  art  which  has  to  be  learned  by  experience 
and  patient  observation.  The  following  suggestions  are  made  by 
an  expert  and  they  may  be  helpful  to  beginners: 

Gophers  come  to  the  surface  in  the  night  and  generally  close  their  holes 
in  the  morning  soon  after  daybreak.  They  frequently  emerge  again  about 
noon,  and  a  third  time  late  in  the  afternoon.  It  is  best  to  set  the  trap  in  an 
open  hole,  as  the  gopher  will  be  sure  to  return  to  fill  it.  Still  the  holes  may 
be  opened  if  the  dirt  is  still  fresh,  with  a  good  prospect  of  the  gopher's 
return.  Therefore  the  trapper  may  make  his  rounds  three  times  a  day,  as 
above  indicated. 

In  the  second  place,  care  should  be  exercised  in  preparing  the  hole  for 
the  insertion  of  the  trap.  The  trapper  should  assure  himself  that  he  has 
found  a  straight  hole  for  a  distance  of  at  least  ten  inches,  with  no  lateral 
branches,  otherwise  the  gopher  in  pushing  out  the  dirt  will  likely  enough 
thrust  the  trap  to  one  side,  cover  it  up  or  spring  it  without  being  exposed 
to  its  grasp. 

In  the  third  place  the  trapper  should  be  supplied  with  at  least  two 
varieties  of  traps — one  for  the  larger  gophers  and  the  other  for  the  smaller 
ones.  The  common  iron  gopher  trap,  which  springs  downward,  is  excellent 
for  the  former,  and  the  small  wire  trap,  which  springs  upward,  is  generally 
successful  with  the  latter.  It  is  taken  for  granted  that  the  size  of  the  hole 
is  indicative  of  the  size  of  the  gopher.  Either  trap  should  be  inserted  nearly 
its  full  length  into  the  hole,  pressed  down  firmly,  and  a  little  dirt  piled  at 
the  outer  end  to  prevent  its  being  easily  pushed  out.  After  the  trap  is  set 
it  is  well  to  cover  the  opening  with  some  grass  or  weeds.  Sometimes  the 
holes  require  a  little  enlarging,  but  care  should  be  taken  to  make  the  fit 
as  close  as  possible,  that  the  body  of  the  gopher  may  be  kept  near  the  center, 
and  thus  more  exposed  to  the  prongs  of  the  trap. 

In  the  fourth  place,  the  trapper  should  be  supplied  with  a  small  spade 
and  a  little  gouge-shaped  implement  for  trimming  the  hole. 

Finally  the  trapper  should  be  supplied  with  traps  as  numerous  as  the 
extent  of  the  pest  demands.  He  should  not  be  discouraged  by  lack  of  suc- 
cess at  first.  Perseverance  is  as  essential  in  this  work  as  in  any  other,  and 
will  generally  win.  We  have  in  mind  the  successful  capture  of  a  big  gopher 
after  trapping  for  him  a  week,  changing  the  trap  two  or  three  times  a  day; 
he  had  then  destroyed  about  fifty  hills  of  corn. 

Poisoning  Gophers. — Poisoning  is  an  easier  method  of  de- 
stroying gophers,  and  it  is  very  satisfactory  if  faithfully  done.  The 
The  poison  is  strychnine  in  crystal  form,  which  can  be  pulverized 
in  the  small  bottle  in  which  it  is  bought  by  using  the  head  of  a  nail. 
Take  out  a  very  small  amount  on  the  tip  of  a  knife  blade  and  insert 
it  into  raisins,  or  pieces  of  carrot,  potato,  alfalfa  stems,  or  almost 
any  succulent  vegetable  substance  which  is  handy  at  the  time.  Find 
where  the  gopher  has  been  at  work  last,  and  remove  the  loose  earth 
from  the  surface,  to  find  where  it  has  come  from;  then  dig  down 


312  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

to  find  the  main  runway,  generally  from  six  to  twelve  inches.  The 
runway  being  found,  clean  out  any  dirt  that  may  have  dropped  into 
it,  and  place  the  poison  a  little  distance  from  the  opening.  Then  seal 
up  the  hole  with  a  lump  of  earth  or  sod,  being  careful  that  none 
drops  in  on  the  poison,  and  put  the  dirt  back  as  it  was  before.  The 
gopher  will  soon  return  to  his  labor,  and  will  seldom  fail  to  pick 
up  the  bait. 

Another  way  to  get  into  the  burrow  without  disturbing  the 
mounds  is  to  sharpen  a  broom  stick  and  push  it  into  the  earth 
about  a  foot  back  of  the  mound  until  it  shows  the  runway  by  drop- 
ping into  it.  Drop  in  the  poison  and  cover  the  hole  you  have  made 
with  dirt. 

It  is  often  useless  to  put  poison  in  holes  left  open  by  gophers 
when  at  work,  as  they  shove  the  poison  out  with  the  dirt,  and  it  be- 
comes lost.  If  the  hole  is  opened  and  poison  is  placed  therein  it 
should  be  closed  up  again,  as  the  gopher,  seeing  the  light  and  feeling 
the  air  where  it  was  not  intended,  goes  to  work  to  remedy  that  evil 
by  showing  a  load  of  dirt  against  the  opening,  thereby  covering  up 
or  throwing  out  the  bait. 

For  large  scale  work  in  poisoning  gophers,  this  recipe  is  very 
effective : 

Sweet  potatoes,  parsnips,  or  carrots 8       quarts 

Flour  paste %  pint 

Strychnine  alkaloid,  powdered *A  ounce 

Saccharine    1/16  ounce 

Chop  the  vegetables,  or  cut  them  with  a  knife,  into  one-half 
inch  cubes.  Make  a  thin  paste  of  flour  and  water  and  boil  for  a 
few  minutes.  Stir  the  strychnine  and  saccharine  into  one-half  pint 
of  the  cooked  paste  and  pour  it  over  the  chopped  vegetables,  stirring 
until  each  piece  is  coated.  Two  or  three  of  these  cubes  are  to  be 
dropped  in  each  runway.  The  alkaloid  form  of  strychnine  should 
be  used  in  preference  to  the  sulphate,  as  the  former  is  but  slightly 
soluble  in  water  and  remains  largely  on  the  outside  of  the  bait,  leav- 
ing the  center  sweet.  The  saccharine  is  used  to  disguise  partially 
the  bitterness  of  the  strychnine. 

Sometimes  the  same  poisoned  grain  used  for  squirrels  can  be 
successfully  used  for  gophers  by  placing  it  in  the  runways  as  first 
described. 

The  Mole. — The  mole  is  an  insect-eater  and  as  such  is  bene- 
ficial, but  he  destroys  so  many  plants  while  mining  for  grubs  and 
worms,  that  a  gardener  can  well  dispense  with  his  services.  The 
best  way  to  do  this  is  to  watch  for  the  rising  soil  and  striking  in 
just  behind  the  mole  with  a  spade  or  shovel  throw  him  out  and 
finish  him.  When  he  is  .working  in  the  lawn  or  where  the  ground 
is  too  hard  for  this  treatment,  strike  into  the  moving  earth  with  a 
hatchet.  It  generally  reaches  the  animal,  and  we  have  killed  more 
moles  in  this  way  than  in  any  other. 


CHAPTER     XXXIX. 
WEEDS  IN  CALIFORNIA. 

For  fear  that  a  book  on  gardening  without  a  chapter  on  weeds 
might  prove  too  great  a  shock  to  horticultural  propriety,  this  con- 
cession is  made  to  conventionality.  The  fact  is  that  the  California 
gardener  gives  himself  less  concern  about  weeds  than  the  distant 
reader  can  perhaps  realize.  There  are  several  reasons  for  this. 

First :  It'  is  possible  to  get  quite  clean  ground  for  winter  gar- 
dening by  weed-killing  cultivation  before  planting.  This  is  one  ad- 
vantage of  our  long  planting  season. 

Second:  Winter  gardening  is  free  from  many  weeds  which 
only  grow  in  high  temperatures. 

Third :  Owing  to  the  long  spring  season  it  is  possible  to  clean 
with  hand  tools  or  with  plow  and  cultivators,  the  land  which  is  to  be 
planted  after  frosts  are  over. 

Fourth :  Summer  growth  of  weeds  is  largely  prevented  by  the 
dry  surface  layer  of  the  soil  and  those  which  do  start  are  destroyed 
by  the  persistent  summer  cultivation  which  is  essential  to  the  pres- 
ervation of  moisture  for  the  crop. 

Fifth:  Many  of  the  worst  weeds  of  humid  climates  cannot 
survive  our  dry  summer  in  uncultivated  soil  and  are  thus  prevented 
from  becoming  serious  pests  here  because  of  their  own  natural 
limitations. 

And  yet  we  do  have  weeds,  magnificent  weeds,  weeds  which 
reflect  the  growth-giving  resources  of  our  soil  and  climate  quite  as 
strikingly  as  do  our  useful  plants.  Mustard,  turnip  and  radish  ex- 
tend laterals  for  the  birds  of  the  air  to  rest  upon.  Smartweed  grows 
in  some  places  too  high  for  a  man  to  look  over;  in  other  places 
morning-glory,  licorice,  Bermuda  and  Johnson  grasses  have  a  grip 
upon  the  soil  which  is  almost  impossible  to  loosen.  Jimson,  dog- 
fennel  and  others,  numerous  beyond  mention,  are  found  in  varying 
amounts  everywhere;  but  for  the  season  stated  above  they  do  not 
give  the  gardener  such  grievance  against  fate  as  their  names  might 
suggest.  On  the  other  hand,  Canada  thistle  and  burdock  are  almost 
unknown,  while  pusley  and  quack  grass  have  in  some  places  as- 
sumed quite  an  air  of  respectability  as  forage  plants. 

Naturally  weeds  are  worst  in  soils  which  are  moist  in  summer, 
such  as  the  rich  lowlands,  and  on  such  lands  the  California  vege- 
table grower  has  to  fight  for  his  crop.  Some  winter-grown  plants, 
like  onions  and  various  roots  are  secured  at  the  cost  of  much  weed- 
ing in  some  situations.  Still  it  is  true,  as  remarked  above,  that 
weeds  do  not,  taking  the  state  as  a  whole,  call  for  such  an  amount 

[313] 


314  CALIFORNIA  VEGETABLES 

of  expensive  effort  as  they  occasion  in  humid  climates,  and  if  the 
garden  is  arranged,  as  it  should  be,  for  the  free  use  of  horse-power, 
the  burden  of  hand  pulling  and  hoeing  is  reduced  to  a  minimum, 
and  the  exertion  of  a  prolonged  hand-to-hand  contest  with  weeds  is 
seldom  heard  of  in  California. 

For  these  reasons,  perhaps,  California  has  no  special  contribu- 
tions to  make  to  general  knowledge  of  weed  killing.  So  far,  how- 
ever, as  her  experience  goes  it  is  most  strenuously  in  favor  of  de- 
stroying weeds  as  robbers  of  moisture  which  must  be  saved  for  use- 
ful plants.  The  California  garden  must  be  clean  and  the  surface 
must  be  frequently  stirred,  whether  weeds  appear  or  not.  It  may 
be  fortunate,  then,  that  we  are  not  altogether  free  from  weeds,  for 
their  invitation  to  slaughter  accomplishes  far  more  for  the  garden 
than  their  own  destruction. 


INDEX 


Adobe,  improvement  of 36 

Ants,  killing 303 

Aphis  or  plant  lice 303 

April,  work  of 97 

Artichokes 120 

gathering  122 

globe  120 

growing  plants 121 

Jerusalem    123 

planting  out   121 

soils  for  121 

varieties  122 

Ashes,  value  of 82 

Asparagus  125 

field  culture 127 

garden  planting 127 

growing  plants 126 

harvesting   130 

localities  for 125 

marketing    131 

season 131 

soils  for  125 

varieties  132, 145 

August,  work  for 95 

Beans    133 

bugs    141 

bush    145 

canning 283 

climbing  147 

field  culture 134 

garden  culture  144 

harvesting   138 

irrigating  138 

localities  for  134 

planting   136 

soils  for  135 

threshing   139 

transplanting    147 

varieties  for  field 141 

Beds,  raised   73 

Beets 149 

cultivation  154 

garden  culture  149 

harvesting   155 

planting    153 

pulp  156 

season 154 

soils  and  situations 152 

stock  157 

sugar 151 

thinning   155 

tillage  for   152 

varieties  150,156,158 

yield 156 


Bordeaux  mixture   : 309 

Borecole 170 

Broccoli  170 

Brussels  sprouts  165 

Cabbage  159 

field  culture 162 

growing  plants 161 

insects 164 

planting    161, 163 

soil 161 

stock   164 

varieties  164 

California  climate 22, 27 

garden  calendar 94 

soils  excellent 33 

Cans  for  plant  growing 118 

Cantaloups    206 

Capers    276 

Cardoon  122 

Carrot    172 

field  culture 173 

garden  culture  174 

ridge  culture 173 

soils 172 

varieties  174 

Cassaba  melons  212 

Cauliflower   160, 166 

garden  culture  168 

growing  plants 167 

planting 166 

varieties   169 

Celeriac    183 

Celery  .. 177 

blanching  182 

crowding   181 

field  culture 179 

garden  culture  178 

growing  plants 180 

harvesting   182 

locations 177 

soils 178 

varieties  183 

Chard,  Swiss 151 

Chayote    276 

Chervil 277 

Chick  pea    233 

Chicory    184 

culture    185 

drying  and  roasting 185 

soil ,..  184 

yield  and  value 185 

Chives 228 

Ciboule  228 

r  si  q  i 


316 


INDEX 


Climate  of  California 22 

coast  valleys  24 

early  regions   26 

frostless  places 30 

interior  lowlands 24 

irrigated  desert  valleys 26 

mountain  valleys  27 

plains  and  foothills 25 

Cloth  for  covering  beds,  etc 114 

Cloudiness  and  sunshine 27 

Cold  frame,  the Ill 

Corn 187 

canning 284 

culture    189 

drying 290 

ear-worm  ; 187 

field  and  silage * 192 

locations 187 

planting   188 

pop    192 

soil 188 

varieties  191,192 

Corn  salads 277 

Cress 277 

Cucumber    194 

culture    195 

locations  for 194 

varieties   196 

Cultivation  (see  tillage) 66 

flat  74 

garden    71 

summer    67 

Cutworms   300,  304 

Cuttings  118 

Damping  off 114 

Dandelion   278 

December,  work  for 96 

Diabroticas   306 

Ditches,  irrigation 51 

Drainage  in  California 61 

benefits  of  62 

not  always  necessary 63 

surface  63 

under  drainage 63 

Drying  vegetables 285,  288 

Earliest  regions  26 

Eelworms    305 

Egg  plant  197 

culture    198 

locations  for 197 

varieties  198 

Endive   185 

Engines,  gasoline   43 

steam    .  43 


Farm  gardens 16 

benefits  of 18 

economics  of 19 

essentials  to  success 17 

profitable   19 

February,  work  for 96 

Fences    86 

Fertilizers  in  California 76 

Flea  beetles 306 

Frost,  effects  on  vegetables 103 

occurrences  of  30,  99 

protection  from  298 

Frostless  places 30 

Fungi,  remedies  for 309 

Furrow  irrigation  54 

Garden,  arrangement 85 

calendar  94 

horse  work  in 87 

insects    299 

location  of 85 

place  in  mixed  farming 20 

practice,  diversity  in 14 

protection    86,  298 

succession  and  rotation 104 

unirrigated    39 

weeds    313 

winds  and  frosts 298 

work  seasonable   94 

Garlic   227 

Garbanzos   233 

Germination,  conditions  for 108 

Gherkin    278 

Ginger    278 

Gophers   310 

Hilling   73 

Hills,  transplanting   117 

Hillside  irrigation 51 

Hoe  in  California 71 

Horse  radish   254 

Horse  work,  arrangement  for...  87 

Hot-bed,  the  112 

Hot  box,  the 113 

Hydraulic  rams ! 45 

Insects,  remedies  for 299 

Intercropping  88 

Irrigation,  garden 39 

advantages  of 39 

check  system 49 

current  wheels  44 

fertilizing  value  of 60 

furrow  system  54 

hillside   54 

how  much  57 

hydraulic  rams 45 

money  value  of 60 


INDEX 


317 


Irrigation,  garden — Continued. 

must  be  adequate 59 

permanent  ditch  system 51 

picturesque    53 

pumps 43 

raised  beds  50 

reservoirs    45 

ridge  system 52 

seepage 41,  52 

siphons  45 

sources  of  40 

sprinkling    55 

subirrigation 48 

temperature  of  water 57 

wheels 44 

windmills 43 

winter 56 

January,  work  for 96 

Jersey  kale  170 

July,  work  for 94 

June,  work  for 97 

Kale  or  borecole 170 

Jersey  170 

marrow    171 

Kerosene  emulsion  301 

Kitchen  herbs 278 

Kohl-rabi 275 

Leek   227 

Lentil    233 

Lettuce  199 

garden  culture  200 

field  culture 201 

varieties  204 

Manures,  absorbents  of 81 

animal 77 

as  mulch 82 

bone 83 

composting    79 

deterioration  of 78 

liquid 81 

tanks  for  79 

March,  work  for 97 

May,  work  for 97 

Melons   206 

cantaloups  206, 208 

culture    207 

varieties   212 

winter 212 

watermelon  213 

culture    214 

harvesting   215 

location  for 213 

varieties  216 

Millipeds   306 


Moisture,  absorption  of 67 

conditions  of 67 

conservation  of  68 

must  be  adequate 59 

Mole  312 

Mulch,  earth 69 

Mulching  72 

Mushrooms 279 

Muskmelons  206 

Mustard  280 

Nasturtium  277, 280 

November,  work  for 95 

October,  work  for 95 

Okra  280 

Onions 217 

culture    219 

harvesting  225 

irrigation  224 

localities 218 

seed  growing  293 

seed  planting  219 

sets    223, 225 

soils 218 

transplanting    221 

varieties  226 

Orchard,  vegetables  in 88 

Parsley 280 

Parsnip    174 

soils  and  culture 175 

varieties  175 

Peas    229 

canning    284 

culture    230 

drying  green 289 

early   231 

field  culture 231 

soils  and  situations 230 

sugar  peas 232 

varieties  232 

squarepod    282 

Peat  soils  for  vegetables 35 

Peppers    234 

culture    234 

varieties  238 

Planting  season 92 

Planting  time,  tables 98 

Plow,  use  of 87 

Potatoes 239 

culture    244 

drying 289 

irrigation  244 

mulching   245 

season 239 

seed  242 

situations  239 


318 


INDEX 


Potatoes — Continued. 

soils 242 

sweet 248 

troubles    245 

varieties   247 

worms    307 

Production,  distribution  of 23 

Propagation    106 

cold  frame Ill 

from  seed 107 

hills  for  transplanting 117 

hot-bed 112 

hot  box 113 

seed-boxes 110 

seedlings,  handling 115 

warm  heap   113 

watering    114 

Pumpkins    262 

Pumps,  Chinese 43 

service  of 43 

Rabbits,  killing 310 

Radishes    253 

culture    253 

varieties  254 

Rainfall,  occurrence  of 45 

Raised  beds 73 

Reservoir  construction   45 

subterranean 48 

Rhubarb 256 

culture    256 

planting   257 

seedlings    256 

treatment 258 

varieties   259 

Ridge  culture  52,  73 

Roselle  281 

Rutabaga  275 

Salsify    175 

Salting  vegetables 287 

Sandy  soil,  improvements  of 37 

Sea  kale 281 

Seed  beds   117 

Seed-boxes    110 

covering  114 

firming  soil  for 108 

mulching    72, 109 

Seed  growing  in  California . .  292 

lettuce 294 

onion 293 

other  seed  294 

preparation  for  market 296 

Seed,  testing 106 

Seedlings,  planting 116 

September,  work  for 95 

Shallot   228 

Soda,  nitrate 84 


Soils,  adobe 36 

alluvial  34 

deep  not  essential 32 

vegetable  of  California 32 

desirable  characters  of 33 

improvements  of 35 

light  soils  preferred 32 

peat  35 

sediment    34 

Spinach    260 

culture    260 

New  Zealand   261 

varieties   260 

Springtimes,  two 22 

Square  pod  pea 282 

Squashes    262 

bugs    307 

culture   x 263 

large   262 

varieties  264 

Squirrels    310 

Sub-irrigation    48 

Sugar  beets   152 

Summer  fallow  67 

Sweet  potatoes 248 

culture    250 

harvesting   251 

growing  plants 249 

planting    250 

storing    251 

varieties  252 

Swiss  chard  151 

Tamale  covers  192 

Tillage,  early  67 

flat 74 

for  absorption  67 

for  retention 68,  70 

to  release  moisture 75 

with  irrigation  72 

Tomato 265 

canning    284 

culture    270 

growing  plants 267 

irrigation  270 

localities 265. 

paste   286 

planting  out   269 

requirements 266 

varieties  271 

yield    271 

Trench  irrigation   52 

Turnip    274 

culture    275 

varieties  275 

Udo 282 

Under  drainage  63 


INDEX 


319 


Vegetables  sundries  276 

Vegetables,  canning  and  drying. . 

13,283 

at  missions   9 

by  foreigners  11 

chance  for  Americans 11 

cheaper  bought  18 

climatic  requirements 22 

furnish  capital  for  fruit 8 

growing  in  California 7 

in  your  orchard 88 

pioneer  7,8,9,10 

shipping  12 

soils  for  32 

value  of  product 14 

weights  and  sizes 7, 12 


Water,  importance  of 17 

application  of 49 

lifting  devices 42 

requirements  of  soils 39 

Waterproof  cloth 114 

Weeds  in  California 313 

Wells,  artesian 42 

Wheels,  current 44 

White  fly  308 

Windmills,  service  of _. .     43 

Winter  gardening 30 

irrigation   36 

Wireworms 305 

Work,  importance  of 17 

for  the  months 94 

seasonable  •  •     92 

Yam    282 

Year,  division  of  garden 22,  94 


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